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FLORIDA. 



ITS 



CLIIATE, SOIL, AND PRODUCTIONS; 



WITH A SKETCH OF ITS 



History, Natural Features anfl SocialGonflition. 

A. M A 1ST IT A L 

OF RELIABLE INFORMATION CONCERNING THE 

RESOURCES OF THE STATE, AND THE 

INDUCEMENTS WHICH IT OFFERS 



TO 



IMMIGRANTS. 



PUBLISHED BY 

L. F. DEWEY & CO., 

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA. 

1868. 




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S V MANUAL 



OF RELIABLE INFORMATION CONCERNING THE 

RESOURCES OF THE STATE, AND THE 

INDUCEMENTS WHICH IT OFFERS 



TO 



IMMIGRANTS. 



PUBLISHED BY 

L. F. DEWEY & CO., 

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA. 

1868. 



INTEODUCTION. 



Our correspondence is filled with a multitude of quest* 
about Florida, her climate, condition, capacity and prospr 
These inquiries are mainly from earnest men who are cdr 
plating immigration, and whose very anxiety points theftfl 
the class of men from which the most desirable accessi'' 
population will come. 

The impossibility of giving adequate and satisfactr' 
to this multitude of questions, by letter, has led us i ^ 
lation of this pamphlet. , jtf, 

Our object is, not to make a " book" on Florida, 
to give, in few words, information that may be relied 
rect, and that will as fully as possible respond to thej 
that are asked, as well as to those that would natyir^ 
themselves to the minds of those who are looking ■/ 
their possible future home. 

We shall consult the most authentic sources. . information, 
and, while we may not always cite the authorities referred to, we 
intend to give a truthful statement in regard to any matter 
touched upon ; and wherever positive statements of fact are 
made, they may be implicitly relied upon. 

The whole subject naturally presents itself under various 
heads, and will be so treated. 



>*>— «*4^ 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction, Page 2 

History, , " 3 

Geography, " 5 

Society, ,. " 7 

Climate, "12 

Soil, " 22 



Productions, Page 28 

Field Crops, "28 

Garden Vegetables, " 35 

Fruits, "38 

Miscellaneous, "44 

General Information, " 48 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by 

L. f. DEWEY & CO., 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the 

Northern District of Florida, 



HISTORY. 



Some little knowledge of the history of Florida is indispens- 
able to a right understanding and appreciation of her present 
condition; for, without such knowledge, the scantiness of the 
present population of the State is perfectly inexplicable, when 
taken in connection with its natural fertility, its genial climate 
and the immense scope of its possible agricultural production. 
If Florida has such a desirable climate and such a variety and 
power of vegetable growth, "why are there not more people 
there?" is an inevitable question, which is best answered by a 
glance at her past history. 

Florida was first discovered in 1497, by Sebastian Cabot, a 
navigator, sailing under the English Flag; but formal posses- 
sion of her territory was first taken, in behalf of Spaia, by De 
Narvaes in 1525. In 1562 it is probable that a temporary 
settlement was formed near the mouth of the St. Johns by 
Kibault, a Frenchman 

In 1564, under the protection of Admiral Coligny, ti settlement 
of Huguenots was formed under the leadership of Lardoniere on. 
the south bank of the St. Johns, and about six leagues above 
its mouth. This settlement was called Carolin, and was com- 
pletely destroyed by the Spaniards under Menendez in 1565, 
who massacred all that escaped death in the fight " not as 
Frenchmen, but as heretics." This murderous act was fully 
avenged by a Frenchman, De Gourgas, who, in 1659 led an 
expedition especially against Fort Carolin, and massacred the 
Spanish garrison "not as Spaniards but as murderers." 

In 1565, the same Menendez fouuded a Spanish colony at St. 
Augustine, thus establishing the first permanent European town 
on the continent of North America. 

In 1584, as the result of various expeditions, the area of Span- 
ish occupation and conquest had become so extended that the 
authority of Spain was acknowledged by the natives, not only 
throughout Florida, but as far west as the Mississippi, and tis 
far north as the mountains of Georgia. 

In 1586 St. Augustine was attacked and plundered by a party 
of English adventurers under Drake. In 1611 it was pillaged 
by the Indians ; and in 1665 was sacked by another party of 
English pirates under Davis. 

In 1689 Pensacola was settled by the Spanish. 



4 

In 1702 St. Augustine was unsuccessfully attacked by Gov. 
Moore, of the English Colony of South Carolina. In 1725 Col. 
Palmer of Georgia also failed in an effort to take the city ; and 
in 1740 Gen. Oglethorpe, of Georgia, was signally repulsed in 
a similar undertaking. 

In 1763 the whole territory of Florida was ceded by Spain to 
Great Britain, but the entire population of the territory, at the 
time of the cession, did not exceed six hundred. 

In 1767 Doct. Turnbull, an English colonist located at New 
Smyrna, imported fifteen hundred Corsicans and Minorcans 
having deluded them by unstinted promises of land and employ- 
ment at high wages, and then subjected them to a systematic 
oppression, similar and scarce less severe than slavery, till after 
the lapse of some ten years, they escaped in a body from his 
servitude, and betook themselves to St. Augustine, where they 
settled down and ultimately became a prominent and valuable 
element of the population of that section. 

In 1781 the Spanish captured Pensacola, and the English 
again lost possession of Florida; and in 1784 the territory was 
once more formally ceded to Spain. 

In 1812 Fernandina capitulated to troops of the United States, 
but was, during the next year, re-delivered to the Spanish, 
Government. 

In 1814 the English forces, under command of Col. Nichols 
entered and manned the forts at Pensacola, although the whole 
territory was nominally under the control of Spain ; and in 1818 
Gen. Jackson attacked and captured Pensacola in behalf of the 
United States. 

In 1819 Florida was purchased by the United States, and was 
formally ceded by Spain. In 1822 a territorial government was 
established; in 1845 Florida was admitted to the Union; and in 
January 1861 she seceded. 

Such is a brief abstract of the leading facts in the history of 
Florjda. What a picture it presents ! Discovered in 1497, per- 
man ently settled in 1565, ceded to Great Britain in 1763, with a 
population of only six hundred, after a colonial existence of two 
hundred years, re-ceded to Spain in 1784, sold and ceded to the 
United States in 1819, receiving a territorial government in 1822, 
admitted to the Union in 1845, seceding in 1861, and re-con- 
structed in 1868; sacked and pillaged repeatedly by Europeans; 
shifting its nationality from time to time and losing almost its 
entire population in each change ; harrassed and plundered by 
repeated Indian wars from 1816 to 1858, and, just as prosperity 
began to dawn, plunged unnecessarily into the useless slaughter 
of a hopeless rebellion, she has suffered every evil, political and 
social, that does not involve absolute extinction. 

The wonder truly is, not that she has not attained a more 



flourishing condition, but that she exists at all, and that hef 
boundless forests, her lovely rivers and her beautiful lakes are 
not locked in the silent embrace of a moveless desolation. 

"Without such reference to her previous history, there would 
be an irreconcilable discrepancy between the present condition 
of Florida and that which might naturally be expected from a 
eonsideration of her fertility, her climate, and her resources. 



GEOGRAPHY. 



The geography of Florida is unique, and is of special interest, 
because many of the important characteristics of the State which 
seem to be contradictory, if not impossible, are easily explained 
by a consideration of its peculiar position and geographical 
character. 

The shape of Florida is somewhat like that of a boot upside 
down, the foot part extending northwardly, and the leg pointing 
to the south. The foot part thus extends some 350 miles, from 
East to West, along the parallel of 31° North Latitude, and 
from 80° to 88° West Longitude from Greenwich ; while the 
part that would represent the leg, or the peninsular proper, 
extends Southwardly from 31° to 25° North Latitude, thus 
reaching over some 400 miles. 

The State contains 59,268 square miles, or 37,931,520 acres. 

The whole territory lies within the region denominated as 
" hot " by the Physical Geographers, and is in the same Latitude 
with Northern Mexico, the Desert of Sahara, Central Arabia, 
Northern Hindostan, the Northern portion of Burmah, and the 
southern portion of China ; but its comparative degree of heat is 
not accurately indicated by its latitude, for accurate scientific ob- 
servation shows it to be isothermal with Southern California, 
Louisiana, the Bermudas, the Island of Madeira, Barbary, 
Egypt, Northern Arabia, Persia, Northern Hindostan, Thibet 
and China. Moreover, the results that might be expected from 
its geographical location are materially affected by its peninsular 
shape, and oceanic surroundings. The main portion of i1s 
surface is iucluded in a peninsular projection extending south- 
wardly between the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf Stream, which, 
in its exit, traverses its Eastern coast for about 300 miles. 

The peninsula averages in width about ninety miles, and is 
fanned by the Gulf winds on one side, and the Trade winds on 
the other, and thus, with so slight a breadth, every portion is 
exposed to the balmy and vivifying influences of almost constant 



oceanic winds, and, from all these geographical peculiarities has 
resulted a pleasantness and salubrity of climate, and a power of 
vegetative production so wonderful as to be almost incredible. 

The surface of the State is, as a whole, remarkably level, 
though this is more characteristic of the Eastern and Western 
portions than of the central part. From the Apalachicola East- 
ward to the Suwannee, and Westward about the same distance, 
the surface is somewhat rolling, and an occasional ridge of what 
are called hills lends a sort of variety to the somewhat mono- 
tonous succession of pine, hummoek and cypress lands stretching 
as far as the eye can reach over an almost dead level. 

Perhaps the most marked of the geographical features of the 
State is to be found in the enormous extent of her coast line, 
which on the Atlantic and the Gulf exceeds eleven hundred 
miles, and the coast line is also remarkable for the great number 
of large bays and estuaries, which furnish facilities for commer- 
cial intercourse that in the near future will hasten the develop- 
ment of the resources of Western and South Western Florida be- 
yond the expectations of the most sanguine. 

Another marked geographical feature of the State is found in 
the number of large and navigable streams. The Apalachicola, 
the Suwannee, the St. Mary's and the St. Johns would be 
noticeable rivers anywhere, and the St. Johns is one of the most 
surprising rivers on the globe. When it is considered that not 
an eminence in East Florida attains the height of 200 feet, the 
St. Johns, fed in great degree by the oozing waters of the Ever- 
glades, and winding through a very level region, will strike any 
stranger with astonishment as he ascends it and finds its average 
breadth for 150 miles to be more rather than less than two miles. 
The ebb and flow of the tide are quite perceptible at the upper 
end of Lake George, more than 150 miles from the mouth of the 
St. Johns. 

Although the general character of the soil of Florida is sandy, 
still few portions of the whole United States are more bounti- 
fully provided with water, and that easily accessible. Springs of 
all kinds, some of clear sweet water, some strongly impregnated 
with sulphur, and others characterized by various mineral admix- 
tures, are so abundant as to be little noticed. Some cf these 
springs are of gigantic proportions, so large that complete rivers 
rush at once from the very bowels of the earth, and to those who 
have never seen them, or those similar to them, a plain and 
simple description of them becomes almost incredible. 

Two of the most famous of these springs are thus described 
in Williams' History of Florida. " The Wakulla Eiver rises 
about ten miles N. W. of St. Marks, from one of the finest 
springs in Florida, or perhaps in the world. It is of an oval 
form, the largest diameter of which is about six rods. It is of 



an unknown depth and perfectly transparent. In looking into it, 
the color resembles a clear blue sky, except near the border, 
where it has a slight tinge of green from the reflection of the 
surrounding verdure, which hangs over it in drooping branches 
and waving festoons. The Eastern side presents a rugged, rocky 
precipice ; all else is an abyss of boundless depth. Squadrons of 
fishes are seen careering around " their own world" in perfect 
security. The" water is moderately cold, and highly impregnated 
with lime. 

•' The beauty of the fountain, the luxuriance of the foliage 
around it, and the calm retirement of the whole scene, render 
this one of the most charming spots that West Florida affords." 

" The big spring of Chipola, offers a very different scene. Here 
also a river bursts from the earth, with a giant force, from large 
masses of rugged rocks, with furious rapidity, as though impa- 
tient of restraint. The orifice opens to the South-west, from a 
high swelling bank, scattered over with large oak trees. East 
and West the orifice may be thirty feet, by eight feet wide. A 
large rock divides the mouth almost into two parts, at a consi- 
derable depth below the surface. The water acts as a prism ; 
all objects seen through it on a sun-shiny day, reflect all the 
colors of the rainbow. This spring at once forms a river, six 
rods wide, and eight feet deep, which joins the Chipola river 
at about ten miles distance." 

Such is the description of the sober historian. Silver Spring, 
in Marion County, is another of these remarkable springs, large 
enough to admit to its very source the steamers that navigate 
the Ocklawaha River. 

And in any part of the State, from the sands of the sea beach 
to the clay soils of the central portion, good water can e.asi'y 
be reached in wells of from 10 to 20 feet in depth. 

A mere glance at the map will show almost innumerable 
lakes, ponds, rivers and creeks, very uniformly scattered 
throughout the whole surface of the State. 



SOCIETY. 



In considering the condition of society in Florida, and in the 
formation and appreciation of conclusions reached, it is first 
and always to be borne in mind that Florida, although in fact 
the oldest settled State in the Union, is, with perhaps the 
single exception of Oregon, probably the most sparsely settled, 
exhibiting in 1860 a population of only 2.31 to the square mile. 

Again in comparing, as is natural, this State with any of the 



Northern States, it is to be remembered that she started and 
has progressed under very different circumstances from those 
attending the growth and progress of any other State, either 
North or South, and has had far more than her proportion of 
obstacles and obstructions to contend with, both politically 
and socially. 

In other States, whatever government has been originally 
adopted, the same has thereafter remained in force, except as 
affected by the rebellion, with very little alteration ; and thus 
in those States, age and stability have added force to all the 
elements of growth, strength and prosperity, and have tended 
gradually and naturally to overcome the influences adverse to 
the development of each. But from the earliest period in her 
history. Florida has had no stable and permanent growth, but 
has been tossed about from nation to nation like a veritable 
political shuttlecock, with no opportunity to grow in strength, 
and actually weakened by successive changes. 

In other States, whatever may have been the circumstances 
of their original settlement, and however diverse may have 
been the character and derivation of the different elements of 
their population, the equality of right before the law, the com- 
mon enjoyment of the same opportunities and privileges, and 
the common participation in administering democratic govern- 
ments have all uniformly and powerfully tended by gradual 
but rapid assimilation towards a homegeneity of population. 
But all such tendencies in Florida have been effectually check- 
ed by her frequent and successive changes of nationality. 
There has not been, and there could not well have been, that 
intimate commingling of nationalities which prevails elsewhere, 
and is indispensable to political and social progress. 

Florida, though in fact an old State, has all the character- 
istics of an entirely new settled State. Its circumstances and 
its political uncertainties have not only not attracted immigra- 
tion, but have really from time to time driven from her, valuable 
elements of population. The better portion of the Spanish 
population departed when the English took possession, and 
when, in turn, the territory was re-ceded to Spain, the English 
settlers who had just began to receive rich rewards for their 
agricultural investments, and by whose skill a brilliant 
future had began to appear, took their departure, some volun- 
tarily and some under government compulsion ; and so again 
and again, the progress made by each nationality was abso- 
lutely lost in the occupation of its successor. 

Thus the State is still a wild and new State. The rank 
growth of the forest trees over-shadowed and concealed the 
vestiges of successive occupations, and the traveller is often 
astonished to find in the middle of dense forests the ruins of 



9 

mills, and houses, and the remains of ditches and canals on a 
grand scale, silent but significant mementos of a recent though 
an almost forgotten past. 

The scanty population of less than 200,000 is scattered over 
an immense territory of nearly 60,000 square miles, and has 
been engaged almost entirely in agriculture ; and the main and 
hitherto all absorbing object of that pursuit has been the rais- 
ing of cotton. The preeminence given this crop, and the pre- 
valence of slave labor, have conspired to stimulate the universal 
Southern passion for the acquisition of land, and thus have 
all combined to crowd out all diversity of occupations not 
directly concerned in and tributary to the raising of cotton. 
There has been no tendency to settle in villages and commu- 
nities, but the general tendency has been towards a dissipation 
rather than concentration of population. Whether or not 
cotton has been " king " it has certainly been a social tyrant, 
and decreeing its votaries to the vast solitudes of remote plan- 
tations, has prevented the formation of those small villages as 
centres of population, where, as in the Northern States, the 
Church, the School, the Press, and Post Office, are recognized 
as the essential instruments and means of social progress — ne- 
cessities of social existence, that must be had, rather than as 
conveniences or luxuries. 

Accordingly, disappointment will surely meet those who, 
coming from other sections, and particularly from the North, 
anticipate the enjoyment here now of the same social advanta- 
ges to which they have been accustomed at home. All such 
means of social culture and improvement are easily possible 
here as elsewhere ; but here as elsewhere they must follow, — 
they cannot precede, — an absolute and entire change in the 
methods of agriculture, and an increase in the diversity of 
occupations. It is hard to change the habits, whether social or 
agricultural, of communities, and as hard to implant new social 
wants, except by the introduction of agencies of a new and 
different character. Hence we need strong immigration of 
new men with new views and new desires first, and then the 
means of gratifying the social needs of a progressive society 
will follow. 

Schools and Churches are to be found in all the towns and 
villages throughout the State, but there has hitherto been no 
public school system in the Southern States, as such systems 
are known in the North and West. In all of these the popula- 
tion has arranged itself, and naturally enough, under the 
aristocratic tendencies of slavery, into the three divisions of 
Planters, Poor Whites and Slaves — safety forbade the educa- 
tion of the slaves, — the poor whites neither desired nor could 
afford the expense of private schools, and the Planters, having 



10 

the means, preferred private to public schools. And of course 
the local governments, administered in the interests of the 
wealthy classes, would neither establish nor enforce any system 
of public free schools. 

But the ratification by the people of the new constitution 
gives assurance of the thorough reconstruction of the State 
under much more favorable auspices in all directions. The 
establishment and provision by adequate taxation for the sup- 
port of an efficient system of public schools is a leading feature 
of the constitution, and can easily be so administered as to 
meet all the present and future educational wants of the State. 

When the inducements of various kinds which Florida holds 
out to immigration shall be fully known in other sections of 
the country, it is confidently anticipated that a tide of popula- 
tion from the North will flow in that will enable the material 
resources of the State to be developed, and then all desirable 
social advantages and opportunities will follow. 

The spirit of the people, taken as a whole, is good, as good 
as under the circumstances could reasonably be expected by 
thoughtful and observing men. In estimating properly the 
present social condition of the State, special reference must 
be had to the radical revolution that has been wrought in all 
matters, social and political, within the last few years. The 
collapse of such a rebellion, and the complete dissipation of the 
dreams indulged, have, of necessity, left a degree of soreness 
and disappointment resulting in a bitterness of feeling which 
is not unnatural, and which could not reasonably be unexpect- 
ed by any sensible man. 

And one of the results has been a sort of natural settling of 
the population into three classes, the native whites who favor- 
ed secession ; the loyal whites with the Northerners, and the 
Freedman, — and much time must necessarily elapse, under the 
most favorable circumstances, before these classes, so recently 
placed in such diverse and antagonistic relations to each other, 
can quietly settle down together to stand upon the same plat- 
form of enjoyment, of identically the same rights, and the exer- 
cise of the same powers and privileges. It would be simply 
preposterous to suppose that in so short a time the small class 
of privileged slave owners, forming the most compact and ab- 
solute social and political oligarchy known to history, should 
with perfect equanimity see themselves, by the legitimate and 
logical consequences of their own folly, shorn of their political 
power, and not only reduced to the common level of simple 
democratic citizenship, but constrained to feign cheerfulness 
in the extension of all the rights of equal suffrage and political 
right to those over whom they had within a few years exer- 
cised all the rights of the most absolute ownership and com- 



11 

plete control ; and in addition to all this, to regard with instant 
and spontaneous affection the representatives of that loyalty 
and unionism that have brought these wondrous changes about. 
Having reference, then, to all these things, it may be said 
with truth that the existing feeling of the whole people of 
Florida towards immigrants is good, — as good as could with 
reason be anticipated. 

While it is undoubtedly true that a stranger could not rea- 
sonably hope to meet with as much cordiality and courtesy in 
the South, as in those more fortunate regions that have never 
been tossed in the boiling cauldron of secession, or been cursed 
with the pressure of the iron heel of conquering armies in a 
bitter civil war, it is also true that there is absolutely nothing 
to deter an immigrant, who seeks to better his condition, from 
settling in Florida, except the absence of that courtesy and 
kindness which he would receive at the West : or even in the 
South, before the terrible struggle for the death of slavery had 
perverted the minds and embittered the hearts of men. 

In our correspondence, the question is often asked, " Is it 
safe for a Northern man to come to Florida ?" The answer is, 
that there is no sort of danger whatever. 

The immigrant of good character and habits will be readily 
received by all. Southern men and women are not super-human, 
and cannot be expected suddenly to absolve themselves from 
the domination of those trains of political thought and those 
prevalent social notions that have ruled them for years, or to 
sympathize at once with the political ideas of a triumphant 
Radicalism. But the whole population of the State is becoming 
rapidly convinced that " men, money and labor," are to be the 
watchwords of success in the future of Florida ; and indeed a 
recent movement has been made in concert, and associations 
are being formed in the various counties to cooperate with the 
Bureau of Immigration about to be established under the new 
Constitution, in the promotion of Immigration, by offering all 
practicable inducements within their power ; and, at a recent 
public meeting in Jacksonville, in which were representatives 
from all parts of the State, the most eminent and influential 
men in the State, of all parties, united in expressing a determi- 
nation to do all that could be done to promote the immigration 
upon which the future prosperity of the State must mainly 
depend. Indeed, any good citizen, that proposes to pay special 
attention to his own affairs, will be welcomed by all, and this 
without any sacrifice of principle, or any abridgement of his 
rights of free thought and free speech. 

Northern men and women, who may come and persist in 
associating exclusively with each other, and sequester themselves 



12 

diligently from all social intercourse with old residents, will be 
allowed thus to indulge their social predilections without let or 
hindrance. 

But those who come with a disposition by individual general 
effort to contribute to the common good, and assist the common 
progress, and who will by social and kindly intercourse assist 
in the doing away of unfounded dislikes and unreasonable pre- 
judices, however boldly, and openly, and frankly, if only with 
a right purpose, they may vindicate their right of individual 
independence of thought and action, will not only be tolerated, 
but respected and cherished. 

Still, it is as undoubtedly true of Florida as it was of Kansas, 
and indeed is of every new State, that a want of the means and 
appliances for social comfort and advancement must, for a time, 
be expected by new comers, and the best way in which immi- 
grants may avoid the consequent inconveniences and depriva- 
tions, is by coming in groups of five or more families, and thus 
secure from the first those social interchanges which are of the 
first importance everywhere. 

Another and a commanding recommendation for such a 
grouping of immigrants is to be found in the fact that much of 
the most valuable land, both for fertility and accessibility, is 
included in large tracts, which were originally government 
grants, and whose owners are disinclined to divide and sell in 
smaller parcels. Such large tracts are often valuable, but 
larger than single settlers need or will buy ; while a colony of 
men who desired to settle together and form a community can 
combine their means, and thus easily secure to each such por- 
tion as he desired, at reasonable rates. 

And this subdivision of large plantations is the indispensable 
first step to be taken before any general agricultural prosperity 
can be hoped for. 



CLIIATE. 



The climate of Florida is one of its chief attractions. Mild 
in Winter, and not excessively hot in Summer, the tempera- 
ture is more equable than that of any other State of the Union. 
The thermometer rarely falls below 30 ° , or rises above 95 ° . 
From the records contained in the Spanish archives at St. 
Augustine, we learn that the mean temperature of the Winter 
months for 100 years, average a little over 60°, and of the 
Summer months 86 ° , Farenheit. Constant mention is made 
of the daily recurring sea-breeze, which cooled oif the after 
part of the day, and gave a delightful atmosphere for nightly 
rest. Here in Florida the many whose constitutions are feeble 



13 

or impaired by disease, can find a refuge from the inclem- 
ent winters of the Northern States. 

It is not enough, however, for those who think of mak- 
ing Florida their future home, to know that her winters 
are delightful. They want the facts about the climate, and 
especially about its healthfulness, all the year round. 

Hence, no question can be more important, and in fact, none 
is more frequently asked, than the question, " How does the 
climate of Florida affect the health of the immigrants ?" The 
most unaccountable misapprehensions are very widely pre- 
valent in regard to this topic, so that the received idea seems 
to be that Florida is the land of swamps, and her atmosphere 
surcharged with the most noxious and miasmatic vapors, to an 
extent that makes the very hope of health and long life within 
her borders futile. 

Now, in fact, if the sanitary statistics of the country, and 
the official reports of the sanitary officials are entitled to 
the credence customarily conceded to them, not a single State 
in the Union can show as clean a bill of health as can be 
exhibited by Florida. And this is the more remarkable when 
it is recollected that a very large proportion of the transient 
population of the State is made up of invalids from other 
sections, who have come to Florida as the last resort, — despair- 
ing of any sanitary improvement elsewhere. 

For very many years St. Aiigustine has been known far and 
wide, as one of the most healthy locations in the whole coun- 
try, or, indeed, in the world. For a hundred years her streets 
have been filled Avith invalids from all parts of the world ; and 
the climate of St. Augustine is the climate of East Florida. 
Northerners have long resorted to Florida, to find in her mild 
and genial climate a relief from the piercing winds and frigid 
temperature of the Northern and Middle States; while the 
cool and wholesome winds of the Atlantic and the Gulf have 
operated to bring annual crowds from Alabama, Georgia 
and the Carolinas, to escape the blazing sun and torrid heats 
of those States. Those who, from frequent visitation and re- 
peated experiment, are best informed, all unite in declaring 
the climate of Florida to be unequalled in the world for 
comfort and health. 

That many die, and of consumptive complaints, is undoubt- 
edly true ; but of most of them it may be said that they were 
doomed before they left home to try a Southern climate 
as their last hope, and that their lives have often been pro- 
longed where they had long been beyond all hope of complete 
restoration. Many a man, now in Florida, is enjoying a fine 
state of health, who would have had anywhere else, but slight 
hope even of life. 

Some of the lands in various portions of the State are 



14 

low, and afc the same time are exceedingly rich ; and there, as 
in all regions where a rank and luxuriant vegetable growth is 
general, will also he found those types of disease which else- 
where universally characterize such regions. But all such 
diseases assume a much milder type than in other sections 
where they are prevalent. 

That there is much swampy land in the State is true, and it 
is also true that the dense vegetable growth of the swamps and 
lagoons, and low hummocks must, of course, whenever vegeta- 
ble decomposition occurs, furnish a great deal of the food that 
nourishes Fevers and kindred diseases ; but the effects of these 
causes are measurably counterbalanced by the almost constant 
breezes that fan the atmosphere, and purge its evil humors, and 
the immense preponderane of pine forests, open to the breezes, 
and perfuming the air with their pleasant and wholesome 
odor. 

In a series of letters from an old resident of Florida, recent- 
ly re-published in Ocala, the climate and healthfullness of 
Florida are quite fully treated, and an extract from the pam- 
phlet is here inserted, as more authentic and more satisfactory 
than any original matter which we can furnish : — 

" The climate of Florida and especially that of the Peninsu- 
lar, taking it the whole year round, is much more agreeable 
than any other in the United States ; and indeed it would be 
difficult to find a climate in any part of the world so agreeable 
as this. The winters are delightful, five days out of six being 
bright and cloudless, and of the most agreeable temperature. 
In the Southern portion of the Peninsular frost is never felt, 
and even far North as the Suwannee Eiver there are generally 
but two or three nights in a whole winter that ice as thick 
as a half dollar is found. Carver, in discussing the Avinters of 
the Peninsular, remarks : ' So mild are the winters in East 
Florida that the most delicate vegetables and plants of the 
Carrabee Islands experience there not the least injury from 
that season; the orange tree, the bananna, the plantain, 
the guava, the pineapple, &c, grow luxuriantly. Fogs are 
scarcely known there, and no country can be more salubrious.' 

" The winter in Florida resembles very much that season 
which in the Middle States is termed the " Indian Summer," 
except that in Florida the sky is perfectly clear, and the 
atmosphere more dry and elastic. Kain but rarely falls during 
the winter months in Florida ; three, four and not unfrequently 
five weeks, of bright, clear and cloudless days occur continu- 
ously. This is one of the greatest charms of the winter 
climate in Florida ; and in this respect it forms a striking 
contrast with almost every State in the Union, and especially 
with Texas, California, and Oregon. 

" Contrary to what might be expected, the summer weather 



15 

in East Florida is much more agreeable, and its heat less 
oppressive (though its duration is much longer) than that 
which is experienced in the Northern and Middle States. This 
is attributable in a great measure to its peninsular posi- 
tion, which causes it to be fanned on the East by the Atlantic 
breezes, and on the West by those of the Gulf of Mexico, both 
of which can be distinctly felt in the centre of the State. Be- 
sides this, the North-east trade winds play over the whole 
Peninsula. The summer nights are invariably cool, and 
even the hottest days are seldom oppressive in the shade. This 
is more than any State North of Florida can boast, and is 
probably owing to her peninsular character. Paradoxical 
as it may seem, the thermometer ranges much higher dur- 
ing the summer months in New York, Boston and Montreal, 
than in St. Augustine, Tampa or Key West. In the for- 
mer cities the thermometer frequently ranges as high as 
100 and 105 in the shade, and that too, without any breeze to 
relieve it, whereas, it but rarely reaches as high as 90 in any 
of the latter places. I am credibly informed that a register 
kept at Key West (the extreme South of Florida) for fourteen 
years, exhibited but three instances, during the whole period, 
in which the mercury rose as high as 94 in the shade. But, 
did it rise even to 104, such is the constant prevalence oi 
refreshing sea-breezes, that less inconvenience would be ex- 
perienced from it than when it was 85 in the humid and 
stagnant atmospheres of other climates. 

"General Lawson, Surgeon-General of the Army, in his 
official report of the climate, diseases, &c, of Florida, remarks : 
1 The climate of Florida is remarkably equable and agreeable, 
being subject to fewer atmospheric variations, and its ther- 
mometer ranges much less than any other part of the United 
States, except a portion of the coast of California. For exam- 
ple, the Winter at Fort Snelling, Minnesota Territory, is 
48 degrees colder than at Fort Brooke, Florida; but the 
Summer at Fort Brooke is only about 8 degrees warmer. The 
mean annual temperature at Augusta, Georgia, is nearly 8 de- 
grees, and that at Fort Gibson, Arkansas, upwards of 10 
degrees lower than at Tampa ; yet in both of these places 
the mean summer temperature is higher than at Fort Brooke, 
Tampa Bay. In the Summer season the mercury rises higher 
in every part of the United States, and even in Canada, than 
it does along the coast of Florida. This is shown by metero- 
logical statistics in this Bureau. 

" The Summer in Florida may be said to be seven months 
long ; so that the duration of warm weather is nearly twice as 
long as in the Middle States. The weather during the whole 
of these seven months is, however, generally of a very pleas- 
ant temperature, the nights being uniformly cool, and sultry 



16 

days of* very rare occurrence. Indeed, so agreeable are the 
summers in East Florida, there is little choice between them 
and the winters ; and many of the oldest inhabitants say that 
they prefer the former. 

" The seasons in Florida are probably as favorable as in any 
other State in the Union. There occurs there, as in every 
other State, occasional droughts of too long duration, and. 
there is sometimes a superabundance of rain ; but, as a general 
rule, the seasons are regular and well adapted to all the 
valuable staples of that country. Frequent showers occur dur- 
ing the months of March, April, May and June, and about the 
first of July what is termed ' the rainy season' commences and 
continues till about the middle of September. Although 
it rains about every day during this season, it scarcely rains all 
day. These rains fall in very heavy showers, accompanied by 
thunder and lightning, and seldom last longer than four hours 
each day. They generally commence at 1 o'clock, P. M., and 
are entirely over by 5 o'clock, P. M., leaving for the remaining 
twenty hours of the day a cloudless sky and a delightfully cool 
atmosphere. One of the great virtues of the Florida climate is, 
'that nearly all the rain falls during the productive season of the 
year; and that during the winter months, when rains are 
but little required, they seldom fall. The reverse of this 
occurs in Texas, California, Oregon and in nearly all the 
Mexican States. 

" As respects Jiealth^the climate of Florida stands pre-emi- 
nent. That the peninsular climate of Florida is much more 
salubrious than that of any other State in the Union, is clearly 
established by the medical statistics of the army as well as 
by the last census returns. In proof of this the most con- 
clusive evidence can be presented ; but it will be sufficient here 
to quote a few remarks'Trom the official Report of the Surgeon- 
General on this subject. General Lawson states; 'Indeed, 
the statistics in this Bureau demonstrate the fact that the dis- 
eases which result from malaria, are of a much milder type in 
thePeninsula of Florida than in any other State in the Union. 
These records show that the ratio of deaths to the number of 
cases of remittent fever has been much less than among 
the troops serving in any other portion of the United States. 
In the Middle Division of the United States the proportion 
is one- death to thirty-six cases of remittent fever; in ,the 
Northern Division, one to fifty-two ; in the Southern Division, 
one to fifty-four ; in Texas, one to seventy-eight ; in California, 
one to one hundred and twenty-two ; in New Mexico, one to one 



17 

hundred and forty-eight ; while in Florida it is but one to two 
hundred and eighty-seven. 

" ' The general healthfulness of many parts of Florida, 
particularly on its coast, is proverbial. The average annual 
mortality of the whole Peninsula, from returns in this office, 
is found to be 2.06 per cent., while in the other portions of the 
United States (previous to the war with Mexico) it is 3.05 per 
cent.' 

"In short, it may be asserted, without fear of refuta- 
tion, that Florida possesses a much more agreeable and salu- 
brious* climate than any other State or Territory in the 
Union." 

This proposition seems to be vindicated beyond a possible 
doubt by the statistics of the U. S. census of 1860, and this, in 
reference to a special class of diseases in regard to which 
Florida stands in an unfavorable light because the very large 
elements of her population composed of invalids are in the 
main those who come here seeking relief from pulmonary 
complaints. Yet from the census of 1860 we gather that 
the proportion of those who died from consumption in various 
of the States in the Union, during the year ending May 31, 
1860, was as follows : 

In Massachusetts, 1 in 254 ; in Maine, 1 in 289 ; in Ver- 
mont, 1 in 404 ; in New York, 1 in 473 ; in Pennsylvania, 1 
in 580 ; in Ohio, 1 in 679 ; in California, 1 in 727 ; in Vir- 
ginia, 1 in 757 ; in Indiana, 1 in 792 ; in Illinois, 1 in 878, and 
in Florida, 1 in 1,447. 

Solon Robinson says, "As to the salubrity of the climate, I 
fully believe its average equal to Indiana or Illinois, and cer- 
tainly no worse for immigrants, from any of the Northern 
States, than Central New York was in its early settlement, 
for those who went into its forests from New England. There 
are here, as there, miasmatic localities, and localities where 
moscpaitoes are as pestiferous as they are in the Montezuma 
marshes — no worse, and certainly.no worse than I have often 
found them at various points around New York." 

We have compiled the following tables, mainly from a 
record of Meteorological Observations kept by Dr. A. 8. 
Baldwin, through whose kiudness we are enabled to give them 
to the public. Jacksonville is situated in Latitude 30 ° 15' 
North, Longitude 82° West. Place of Observation, 14 feet 
above mean low water. The mean of three daily observations 
is given. The highest and lowest ranges of the Thermom- 
2 



18 



eter each month, for five years, from 1851 to 1861 inclusive, 
are shown below : — 





1857 


1858 


1859 


1860 


1861 




Months 












Remarks. 


H. L 


H. L. 


H. L. 


H. L 


H. L. 


January 


72 


16 


76 


38 


76 


30 


76 


40 






Ice one to two inches 


February 


81 


44 


77 


39 


79 


39 


79 


44 


75 


42 




March 


85 


41 


83 


34 


84 


45 


83 


40 


83 


43 


thick, Jan. 19 and 20, 


April 


81 


47 


86 


49 


89 


53 


92 


58 


85 


54 




May 


91 


61 


91 


66 


92 


64 


92 


58 


94 


64 


1857. * 


June 


91 


73 


92 


73 


94 


70 


97 


69 


98 


73 




July 


89 


68 


96 


74 


95 


70 


98 


74 


92 


70 




August 


95 


75 


94 


75 


91 


75 


93 


73 


91 


73 


At 7 A.M., Nov. 25, 


September 


92 


64 


86 


64 


92 


70 


89 


65 


92 


59 




October 


81 


42 


85 


62 


S4 


50 


87 


53 


86 


57 


1860, the Thermome- 


November 


82 


27 


79 


39 


79 


35 


80 


25 


79 


45 




December 


80 


39 


78 


40 


79 


M 


72 


32 


74 


38 


ter stood at 25 ° 



^Earliest frost in the five years, October 27, 1857. Latest 
frost, April 28, 1858. Latest frost in 1859, February 14th. 



19 



Summary of twenty years' observations of the Thermometer, 
taken at Jacksonville, Fla., by Dr. A. S. Baldwin, showing the 
mean temperature of each month and year reported, also the 
means of twenty years, for each month and the whole year. 



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22 

SOIL. 

At first sight the Northern and Western farmer will be 
inclined to believe much of the soil of Florida nearly worth- 
less. So far from the truth however is this impression that it 
will not hold good even of the forests lands ; the "black jack" 
ridges and the low " flatwoods." The soil is generally sandy 
with more or less admixture of clay, lime and organic matter. 
The greater portion of the lands in Florida may be designated 
as pine lands ; the pitch and yellow or long bared pine (Ptnus 
Palustris) being the principal timber. In the hummocks it is 
mingled with white, live and water oak, gum, bay, hickory, 
magnolia, cabbage palmetto, &c, &c. 

The classification of lands in common use being based upon 
their elevation and the character of their vegetable growth, 
does not indicate very fully the quality of the soil. There are 
the hummock, pine and swamp lands. Then there is the high 
and light hummock, and the low or heavy hummock; of pine 
lands there are the first, second and third rate. The charac- 
teristic of hummock land as distinguished from pine is in the 
fact of its being covered with a growth of underbrush, while 
the pine lands are open . Whenever, then, the land is not so 
low as to be called swamp, and produces an undergrowth of 
shrubbery, it is called hummock. 

The late Dr. Byrne, an old resident of Florida, in a series of 
letters written in 1860 gives a description of the lands in Flo- 
rida, so accurate and so well adapted to our purpose, that we 
copy it nearly entire. 

" There is in every State and Territory in the Union, a very 
large proportion of barren and poor lands ; but the ratio 
of these lands differs greatly in different States, Florida has a 
due proportion of poor lands ; but, compared with other States, 
the ratio of her larren and worthless lands is very small. With 
the exception of the Everglades, and her irreclaimable swamp 
lands, there is scarcely an acre in the whole State of Florida 
that is entirely worthless, or which cannot be made, under her 
tropical climate, tributary to some agricultural production. 
Lands which in a more Northern climate would be utterly 
worthless, will, in Florida, owing to her tropical character, 
yield valuable productions. For example, the poorest pine 
barren lands of Florida, will produce without manure, a lux- 
uriant crop of Sisal Hemp, which yields more profit to the acre 
than the richest land will when cultivated in sugar, cotton or 
tobacco. So it is with numerous other valuable tropical pro- 
ducts that are adapted to the lands, that in more Northern 
climates would yield nothing to agriculture. Besides this, 



23 

there are in Florida no mountain wastes — no barren prairies 
— and there are but few acres in the whole State not under 
cultivation, that are not covered with valuable timber. 

I shall here give a brief sketch of the different descriptions 
of the lands in Florida. 

Pine lands (pitch and yellow pine) form the basis of Florida. 
These lands are usually divided into three classes, denoting 
first, second and third rate pine lands. 

That which is denominated " first rate pine land" in Florida 
has nothing analogous to it in any of the other States. Its 
surface is covered, for several inches deep, with a dark vege- 
table mould, beneath which, to the depth of several feet, is a 
chocolate colored sandy loam, mixed for the most part, with 
limestone pebbles, and resting on a substratum of marl, clay, 
or limestone rock. The fertility and durability of this descrip- 
tion of land may be estimated from the well-known fact that it 
has, on the Upper Suwannee and in several other districts, 
yielded, during fourteen years of successive cultivation, with- 
out the aid of manure, four hundred pounds of Sea Island Cotton 
to the acre. These lands are still as productive as ever, so 
that the limit of their durability is still unknown. 

The " second rate pine " lands, which form the largest propor- 
tion of Florida, are all productive. These lands afford fine 
natural pasturage ; they are heavily timbered with the best spe 
cies of pitch and yellow pine ; they are for the most part, high, 
rolling, healthy and well-watered. They are generally based 
upon marl, clay or limestone. They will produce for several 
years without the aid of manure, and when cow-peni>ed, they 
will yield two thousand pounds of the best quality of sugar to the 
acre, or about three hundred pounds of Sea Island Cotton. 
They will, besides, when properly cultivated, produce the finest 
Cuba tobacco, oranges, lemons, limes, and various other tropi- 
cal productions, which must in many instances render them 
more valuable than the best bottom lands in the more northern 
States. 

Even the lands of the " third rate," or most inferior class, 
are by no means worthless under the climate of Florida. This 
class of lands may be divided into two orders ; the one com- 
prising high rolling sandy districts, which are sparsely covered 
with a stunted growth of " black jack " and pine ; the other 
embracing low, flat, swampy regions, which are frequently 
studded with " bay galls," and are occasionally innundated, 
but which are covered with luxuriant vegetation, and very 
generally with valuable timber. The former of those, it is now 
ascertained, owing to their calcareous soil, is well adapted to the 
growth of the Sisal Hemp, which is a valuable tropical produc- 
tion. This plant, (the Agave Sisiliana) and the Agave Mexi- 



24 

cana Hemp, also known as the Maguay, the Pulke Plant, the 
Century Plant, &c., have both been introdnced intp Florida, 
and they both grow in great perfection on the poorest lands of 
the country. As these plants derive their chief support from 
the atmosphere, they will, like the common air plant, preserve 
their vitality for many months when left out of the ground. 

It is scarcely necessary to add, that the second order of the 
third rate pine lands, as here described, is far from worthless. 
These lancfs afford a most excellent range for cattle, besides 
being valuable for their timber and the naval stores which they 
will produce. 

There is one general feature in the topography of Florida, 
which no other country in the United States possesses, and 
which affords a great security to the health of its inhabitants. 
It is this, that the pine lands which form the basis of the coun- 
try, and which are almost universally healthy, are nearly every 
where studded at intervals of a few miles, with hummock lands 
of the richest quality. These hummocks are not, as is generally 
supposed, low wet lands ; they never require ditching or drain- 
ing ; they vary in extent from twenty acres to forty thousand 
acres, and will probably average about 500 acres each. Hence 
the inhabitants have it everywhere in their power to select 
residences in the pine lands, at such convenient distances from 
the hummocks as will enable them to cultivate the latter, with- 
out endangering their health, if it should so happen that any 
of the hummocks proved to be less healthy than the pine woods. 

Experience in Florida has satisfactorily shown that residen- 
ces only half a mile distant from cultivated hummocks are en- 
tirely exempt from malarial diseases, and that the negroes who 
cultivate those hummocks, and retire at night to pine land 
residences, maintain perfect health. Indeed it is found that 
residences in the hummocks themselves are generally perfectly 
healthy after they have been a few years cleared. Newly cleared 
lands are sometimes attended with the development of more or 
less malaria. In Florida the diseases which result from those 
clearing are, as I stated in my former letter, generally of the 
mildest type, (simple intermittent fever ;) while in nearly all 
the southern States they are most frequently of a severe grade 
of bilious fever. 

The topographical feature here noted, namely, a general in- 
terspersion of rich hummocks, surrounded by high, dry rolling, 
healthy pine woods, is an advantage which no other State in 
the Union enjoys ; and Florida forms in this respect, a striking 
contrast with Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, whose Sugar 
and Cotton lands are generally surrounded by vast alluvial re- 
gions, subject to frequent inundations, so that it is impossible 
to obtain, within many miles of them, a healthy residence. 



25 

It would seem paradoxical that the malarial diseases of East 
Florida (abounding as it does in rich hummock lands, and ex- 
posed to a tropical sun,) should generally be of a much milder 
form than those which prevail in more northern latitudes. 
That such, however, is the fact, there can be no doubt ; for 
this fact is proved by an aggregate of evidence (extending over 
more than twenty years,) which it is impossible to resist. It 
is suggested, in explanation of this fact, that the luxuriant 
vegetation which in the Southern and Middle States, passes 
through all the stages of decomposition, is, in East Florida, 
generally dried up before it reaches the putrefactive stages of 
decomposition, and that consequently the quantity of malaria 
generated is much less than in climates more favorable to de- 
composition. This view is strengthened by the fact that the soil 
of Florida is almost everywhere of so porous and absorbent a 
character that moisture is seldom long retained on its surface ; 
that its atmosphere is in constant motion, and that there is 
more clear sunshine than in the more northern States. It is 
further suggested that the uniform prevalence of sea breezes, 
and the constant motion of the atmosphere in the Peninsula, 
tend so much to diffuse and attenuate whatsoever poison is 
generated, that it will generally produce but the mildest forms 
of malarial disease, suchas intermittent fever. 

The lands which in Florida are, par excellence, denominated. 
'* rich land," are first, the " swamp lands ;" second, the " low 
hummock lands ;'• third, the "high hummocks," and fourth, the 
" first-rate pine, oak and hickory lands." 

The swamp lands are, unquestionably, the most durably rich 
lands in the country. They are the most recently formed 
lands, and are still annually receiving additions to their surface 1 . 
They are intrinsically the most valuable lands in Florida, being 
as fertile as the hummocks, and more durable. They are evi- 
dently alluvial and of recent formation. They occupy natural 
depressions of basins, which have been gradually filled up by 
deposits of vegetable debris, &c, washed in from the adjacent 
and higher lands. Ditching is indispensable to all of them in 
their preparation for successful cultivation. Properly prepared, 
however, their inexhaustible fertility sustains a succession of 
the most exhausting crops with astonishing vigor. The great- 
est yield of sugar ever realized in Florida, was produced on this 
description of land, viz : four hogsheads per acre. That this 
quantity was produced on Dummitt's plantation near Xew 
Smyrna, is a fact well known to those conversant with sugar 
planting in East Florida. Sugar cane is here instanced as a 
measure of the fertility of the soil, because it is one of the most 
exhausting crops known, and is generally grown without rest 
or rotation. It is not, however, a fair criterion by which to 



26 

judge of the relative fertility of lands situated in different cli- 
mates, for we find on the richest lands in Louisiana the crop 
of sugar per acre, is not more than one hogshead, or about half 
that of East Florida. 

This great disparity in the product of those countries is 
accounted for, not by any inferiority in the lands of Louisiana 
or Texas, but by the fact that the early incursions of frost in 
both these States render it necessary to cut the cane in October, 
which is long before it has reached maturity, while in East 
Florida it is permitted to stand, without fear of frost, till De- 
cember, or till such time as it is fully matured. It is well 
known that it " tassels " in East Florida, and it never does so 
in either Louisiana or Texas. When cane " tassels " it is evi- 
dence of its having reached full maturity. In consequence of 
the heavy outlay of capital required in the preparation of this 
description of land for cultivation, and from the facility of 
obtaining hummock land, which requires no ditching nor 
draining, swamp land has been but little sought after by persons 
engaged in planting in Florida, and there is now at least a 
million of acres of the best description of this land vacant in 
the country, and whichcan be secured at less than two dollars 
per acre. Vast bodies of it lie convenient to navigation and 
railways, and doubtless will soon be sought after with avidity, 
as soon as the sugar planters of Louisiana and Texas become 
apprized of its character, and of the many advantages which 
sugar planting in Florida presents over any other State in the 
Union. 

Low Hummocks, which from the fact of their participating 
of the nature of hummocks and swamps, and sometimes termed 
SwammocTe, are not inferior to swamp lands in fertility, but 
perhaps are not quite as durable. They are nearly always 
level, or nearly so, and have a soil of greater tenacity than that 
of the high hummocks. Some ditching is necessary in many 
of them. The soil in them is always deep. These lands are 
also extremely well adapted to the growth of the cane, as has 
been well attested by the many plantations which were former- 
ly in operation here on this description of land. There is not 
nearly so large a proportion of low hummock as there is of 
swamp lands. 

High Hummocks are the lands in the greatest repute in 
Florida. These differ from low hummocks in occupying high- 
er ground, and in generally presenting an undulating surface. 
They are formed of a fine vegetable mould, mixed with a sandy 
loam in many places two feet deep, and resting in most cases 
on a substratum of clay, marl or limestone. It will be readily 
understood by any one at all acquainted with agriculture, that 
such a soil, in such a climate as Florida, must be extremely 



27 

productive. This soil scarcely ever suffers from too much wet ; 
nor does drought affect it in the same degree as other lands. 
High hummock lands produce with but little labor of cultiva- 
tion, all the crops of the country in an eminent degree. Such 
lands have no tendency to break up in heavy masses, nor are 
they infested with pernicious weeds or grasses. Their extraor- 
dinary fertility and productiveness may be estimated by the 
fact in several well known instances, in Marion County, 
(Clinch's, Mcintosh's &c.,) three hogsheads of sugar have been 
made per acre on this description of land, after it had been in 
cultivation six years, in successive crops of corn, without the 
aid of manure. 

To sum up its advantages, irrequires no other preparation 
than clearing and plowing to fit it at once for the greatest pos- 
sible production of any kind of crop adapted to the climate. 
In unfavorable seasons it is much more certain to produce a 
good crop than any other kind of land, from the fact that it is 
less affected by exclusively dry or wet weather. It can be cul- 
tivated with much less labor than any other lands, being re- 
markably mellow, and its vicinity is generally high and healthy. 
These reasons are sufficient to entitle it to the estimation in 
which it is held over all other lands. 

The first-rate pine, oak and hickory lands are found in pretty 
extensive bodies in many parts of the State, particularly in 
Marion, Alachua and Hernando counties. From the fact that 
those lands can be cleared at much less expense than the swamp 
and hummock lands, they have heretofore been preferred by the 
small planters, and have proved remarkably productive. 

There are, besides the lands already noticed, extensive tracts 
of Savanna lands, which approximate in character, texture of 
the soil, and period and mode of formation, to the swamp lands, 
differing only in being destitute of timber. Some of these lands 
are, however, extremely poor. 

Probably the largest bodies of rich hummock land in East 
Florida are to be found in Levy, Alachua, Marion, Hernando 
and Sumpter Counties. There are in Levy County alone, not 
less than one hundred thousand acres of the very best descrip- 
tion of sugar lands ; and there is but a small proportion in any 
of the five counties here cited, that will not produce remunera- 
tive crops of Sea Island and Short Staple Cotton, without the 
aid of manure." 

The lands on the St. John's River, taken as a whole, are not 
as fertile as in some other sections of the State. There are, how- 
ever, thousands of acres of rich hummock land within a mile of 
the river, which are as yet an unbroken forest, and the pine lands 
are much better than the average of the whole State. Besides 
there is an abundance of muck on the banks of the river and 



28 

its tributaries, which furnishes a most excellent fertilizer. 
Lime, marl and shells are also easily obtained, and have been 
used with very beneficial results. 

In Middle Florida, the Counties of Leon, Gadsden, Jefferson 
and Madison, have large quantities of high, rolling hummock 
land ; also the County of Jackson in West Florida. They are 
more undulating than those in East Florida, and are underlaid 
with a stiff red clay. They are by. far the best lands in the 
State for short staple Cotton, to which they have been almost 
exclusively appropriated. There is in Volusia County, a range 
of low hummock, a little back from the coast, from a half to 
two miles wide, and extending from the head of the Halifax to 
the head of the Indian River, some fifty miles, as well adapted 
to sugar cane as any land in the State. The Gulf hummock 
in Levy County, [comprises perhaps the largest body of rich 
land in Florida. It was bought up years ago at from five to 
ten dollars per acre by private parties, by whom it is mostly 
held at the present time. The Florida Railroad runs through 
it, and it will no doubt become, at an early day, one of the 
garden spots of the State. The clearing of the hummocks, 
however, is expensive, and, as in every new country, we may 
expect to see the lands more lightly timbered first brought 
into cultivation. 



PRODUCTIONS. 



FIELD CROPS. 

In no State of the Union can so extensive a variety of valua- 
ble productions be successfully cultivated as in Florida. Most 
of the crops grown in the temperate zone flourish in the northern 
portion of the State. Nearly all the Peninsula is adapted to the 
cultivation of semi-tropical fruits. At least one-fourth of the 
entire area of the State is south of the line of frost, and will grow 
successfully the tropical productions of the West Indies. Here- 
tofore Cotton has been the principal staple. Indian Corn has 
been largely raised, but not in sufficient quantity to supply the 
home demand. Tobacco and sugar have been grown to some 
extent. Of late, however, attention has been turned to other 
productions, and a new era in the development of the resources 
of Florida has already commenced. On the St. John's river and 
along the railroads, the culture of vegetables for the northern 



29 

markets is receiving much attention, and is no longer an experi- 
ment. Fruit growing, hitherto neglected, is being prosecuted 
with energy, and cannot fail to become one of our most important 
interests. There are large quantities of land in Florida yet in a 
state of nature, admirably adapted to the culture of cane, and 
there is little doubt that within a few years, Sugar will become 
an important staple. In giving an account of the more import- 
ant productions, we have condensed into a small space much in- 
formation concerning their cultivation, &c, which to those unac- 
quainted with the climate and soil of Florida, will prove we doubt 
not, both interesting and useful. We place first on the list, 

INDIAN CORN. 

It is to the mass of the people the " staff of life." It is grown 
in all parts of the State. On rich bottom lands from 50 to 60 
bushels per acre is raised, while on ordinary pine lands, without 
manure, 10 bushels per acre is a fair crop. February is the best 
month to plant. The common method is to plant in hills, four 
feet apart each way, thinning out to one or two stalks to 
each hill at the first plowing. Three plowings are usually given ; 
the last early in June. The hand-hoe is used at the first and 
second plowings, to cut up the weeds not turned under by the 
plow. It is customary, in the latter part of July, after the Cot- 
ton crop has been laid by, to strip off* the blades and bind them 
in bundles for fodder, but we doubt if it will pay at the present 
cost of labor. During the fall months the ears of corn are broken 
off and stored in the crib without husking. This is to prevent 
the depredations of the wevil upon the grain after it is stored. 

COTTON. 

In 1S60 Florida 'produced 63,322 bales of ginned cotton. 
The crop of last year, though much less in quantity exceeded in 
value that of 1860, but did not pay the cost of cultivation on the 
whole. Without doubt, however, it will continue to be cultivated 
and to be an important staple, but will not, as formerly, monop- 
olize the capital and industry of the country. Both the long 
staple or sea-island, and the short staple or upland Cotton are 
cultivated. There is but little long cotton grown west of the 
Suwanee river, except in the County of Gadsden, and scarcely 
any short cotton east of the Suwanee. April is the month for 
planting. Many commence the last of March. The picking 
season commences the last of August, and continues until Christ- 
mas. 200 to 300 pounds of short Cotton per acre is a fair yield 
upon ordinary soils, but 5001bs per acre is not an unusual crop on 
strong land. Long Cotton produces from 100 to 200 pounds 
per acre as an average crop, but under favorable circumstances, 



30 

300 and even 400 pounds have been raised. We cannot enter 
into the details of its culture, and give no estimates upon the 
cost of cultivation. It is generally conceded that the plantation 
system must pass away, and the large landed estates be divided 
up into small farms, to be cultivated in the main by those who 
hold the title to the soil. This change, of course, is not to be 
effected in one year or five, but there is reason to believe that 
this generation, even will see it consummated. Whether cotton 
will continue, under the new system, to be our most important 
staple is, of course, problematical, but the conditions under 
which it will be cultivated will be so different, that an estimate 
of the cost of cultivation under the present method, would be of 
little value. 

SUGAR. 

Sugar Cane has been cultivated in small patches for home 
consumption, and to some extent for market. The adaptability 
of the soil and climate of Florida to its culture has long been 
known, but owing to a variety of causes, its resources in this 
direction have hardly begun to be developed. As early as 1823, 
Yignoles writes as follows : — " Eespecting Sugar, the recent 
successful trials that have been made upon it, have determined 
the curious fact that it will grow in almost any of the soils of 
Florida, south of the mouth of St. John's river; the great length 
of summer, or period of absolute elevation of the thermometer 
above the freezing point, allows the cane to ripen much higher 
than in Louisiana." Williams, writing in 1837, says: — " This 
(Sugar,) ought to be the staple of the country. Experiments in 
every part of the territory prove that all our good lands will 
produce Sugar Cane as well as any other crop." Further on he 
says : — "A general impression has prevailed that sugar could not 
be made to advantage unless a great capital is invested ; but 
experience abundantly proves that a small capital may be as 
profitably employed in the culture of Cane as in any other pro- 
duct." The truth of the above statements have been proved 
by recent experiments. A correspondent of the Evening Post, 
writing from Enterprise the past winter, says : — " Sugar cane 
has been raised with success for many years. I saw on the farm 
of O. C. Arnett, on the lake, the largest field I have yet found 
in the State. He cultivated ten acres. His land is hummock, 
and has been cultivated without manure for nearly twenty years. 
Mr. Arnett's crop was not planted until the middle of February, 
instead of the usual time, between Christmas and the last of 
January. He banked the earth around the cane throughout 
the season, leaving a deep furrow between the rows. He has 
just finished manufacturing his crop, and finds that it has produ- 



31 

ced at the rate of 1,500 lbs. of Sugar, and 300 gallons of Molas- 
ses to the acre." Allowing a gallon of Molasses to make five 
pounds of Sugar (a low es'.imate), and we have 3,000 pounds to 
the acre, from land which has been cultivated without manure 
for near twenty years. Solon Robinson, who spent the past 
winter in Florida, gives an extended account of the experiments 
of Mr. W. W. Holden, of Orange County, in the culture of Sugar 
Cane, from which we extract the following: "Mr. Holden 's 
place is upon just such land as composes the great body of East 
Florida — that is, dry sandy soil with clay deep down ; the most 
common growth long leaf pine {Pinus palustris), some oaks, hick- 
ory, holly, and other trees, and a natural growth of weeds that 
would astonish a northern farmer. With good cultivation in a 
favorable season, Mr. Holden estimates a fair crop of corn at 20 
bushels per acre in that vicinity. His crop last year was 17£ 
bushels per acre. Since the war he has been experimenting 
with Sugar Cane upon such land as I have described — that is, 
good, fair quality, sandy, pine land; such as gave 17^ bushels . 
of corn to the acre; and this is the result. He had, the past 
season, 2^ acres of ' plant cane,' (a term used to distinguish it 
from that which grows after the first year from the rattoons) 
worked in the same way and to the same amount as he worked 
his corn ; and planted the same distance apart in February. It 
is usual to make beds for the cane. He did not, but cultivated 
flat and not as much as would have been profitable. He has 
(January 15,) just finished grinding, and has 20 barrels of beau- 
tiful Sugar, worth 13c. per lb. at the mill, and 11 barrels Syrup 
worth 75c. per gallon. He uses a three-roller iron mill, driven 
by a pair of horses, and it required himself, three men and two 
boys ten days to work up the crop." Mr. Robinson estimates 
the cost of the above crop at $450. Estimating 225 lbs. of Su- 
gar to a barrel, at the prices mentioned the crop would amount 
to $873.75, or $388.33 per acre. Beyond question, the ordinary 
yield of Sugar per acre, in Florida, is nearly twice as great as 
in Louisiana, and the soil is much easier tilled. The Cane pro- 
duces well from the rattoon for three to. five years, and even 
longer in the southern portion of the State. Experiments which 
have been made in fertilizing indicate that swamp muck is one 
of the very best manures for this crop. Of this there is an 
abundance within the reach of almost every man's farm. But 
there are thousands of acres of rich hummocks yet in a state of 
nature, which are susceptible of producing, for a series of years, 
without manure, as fine crops ol Sugar as any that grow in the 
West Indies. The idea has been prevalent that Sugar Making 
must be conducted on a large scale to make it profitable, but this 
is an error. " I am now well satisfied," says Mr. Robinson, 
<; that small farmers can grow Cane upon any good pine land by 



32 

manuring, and can make Sugar as easily as Yankee farmers 
make cider," and he adds : " Undoubtedly it would be more 
remunerative, indeed extremely profitable, on a large scale." 

SWEET POTATOES. 

Next to Indian Corn, the most important article of vegetable 
food in common use is the Sweet Potatoe. They do best on a 
light soil, well manured. The yield per acre is from 100 to 300 
bushels, depending upon the season, culture and quality of soil. 
They are propagated from the seed, like Irish Potatoes ; from 
draws, and from the vines. Under the first method, the Potatoes 
are planted in hills or drills early in the season, and cultivated 
very much the same as Irish Potatoes. By the second method, 
the Potatoes are planted thickly in a bed ; when they have 
sprouted two or three inches, the young shoots, called draws, 
are broken off and set out in the field. This must be done in 
damp or showery weather. The third is by cutting off and 
planting out pieces of the vines, after the plants have commenced 
running. The crop raised from vines is later, but frequently not 
inferior either in quantity or quality to that raised by the other 
methods of propagation. The early crop begins to mature about 
midsummer. The crop is a profitable one, and deserving of 
more attention, as a market crop, than it has hitherto received. 
Sweet Potatoes bear shipment well, and always command good 
prices in the Northern Markets. 

IRISH POTATOES. 

This crop does not produce as well as at the North, but is 
off in time to be followed by a crop of Sweet Potatoes the same 
year. They should be planted in January, although good crops 
are sometimes obtained from later planting. A covering of muck, 
grass or coarse compost is very beneficial. The Potatoes are fit 
for digging in May. They can be shipped without difficulty, and 
at a moderate expense, to the northern markets, where they are 
worth eight to nine dollars per barrel. The culture is essentially 
the same as that practiced at the North. 

RICE. 

There is much low land in Florida, well adapted to the cult- 
ure of Rice. It has been raised to quite an extent for home 
consumption. Porty to sixty bushels per acre of rough rice is an 
average crop. It is not likely to become a staple crop, still it 
may be cultivated to advantage in many locations. It is much 
used as an article of food by all classes. 



33 
TOBACCO. 

Cuba Tobacco was largely cultivated in the county of Gads- 
den before the war, and to some extent in some other portions 
of the State; but it is now almost entirely neglected. The cul- 
tivation is somewhat tedious. There is no crop that requires so 
constant attention. Three cuttings in a season are produced 
from the same stalks. Tobacco is an exhaustive crop, and re- 
quires a fertile soil. Still its cultivation on a small scale may 
be made extremely profitable. 700 lbs. to the acre is an average 
yield. 

INDIGO. 

Under the British occupation of Florida, Indigo was the prin- 
cipal staple. It is a sure crop, but its culture has been wholly 
abandoned. The plant grows wild in many parts of the State, 
and will doubtless at some future time be cultivated extensively. 
The plant has become naturalized or is indigenous, and is found 
growing wild in various parts of the State. 

SISAL HEMP. 

Dr. Henry Periue introduced the Sisal Hemp into South 
Florida some 25 years ago, from Yucatan. It is a purely tropi- 
cal plant. The soil and climate south of the line of frost is well 
adapted to its growth. Heretofore the difficulty has been in 
devising some economical method of separating the fibre from 
the pulp. A machine has been invented recently, which is 
cheap, and believed to be efficient. Concerning- its culture the 
late Wm. C. Dennis, of Key "West, says : " It is no lunger an 
experiment here, as to the growth of the plant, the amount of 
the product or the value of the fibre. It requires no replanting, 
and very little care after the first year or two. A ton of clean- 
ed hemp can be made to the acre, worth at least 8300 per ton. 

CASTOR BEAN. 

The Palma Christi, or Castor Bean, grows luxuriantly.. In 
the southern portion of the State it is perennial, and attains the 
size of a small tree. It is frequently seen in gardens and in 
waste places. We do not know that any experiments have 
been made in its cultivation as a field crop ; but we deem it 
worthy of attention. 

SILK. 

Much has been said and written about the breeding of Silk 
Worms, and production of Silk, in Florida. At one time Silk 
3 



34 

growing received considerable attention at St. Augustine. The 
conditions for a successful prosecution of the business seem pe- 
culiarly favorable. The mulberry is a native of our forests. 
Cocoons of the Silk -Worm are often found upon them. The 
climate is more mild than that of Italy. There is no reason 
why this valuable staple should not be largely produced. 

COFFEE. 

We know no reason why Coffee could not be grown success- 
fully, south of the 28th parallel; but we have not been able to 
learn from any reliable source, that any experiments have been 
made in its culture. More than forty years ago, a Philadelphia 
Company sent out an expedition to explore the country and se- 
lect suitable spots for the cultivation of the Coffee plant; but 
the project was abandoned, Congress refusing the grant of lands 
required by the Company. If our climate and soil should be 
found suitable for the culture of Coffee, it could not fail to be- 
come, in a few years, an important staple. 

TEA. 

The efforts which have been made heretofore to introduce the 
culture of tea into the United States, do not seem to have met 
with the success which had been anticipated. The soil of Mid- 
dle Florida is said to resemble in quality that which is so much 
sought after in Assam by Tea-growers, and its culture may be- 
come an important branch of industry at some future day. 

PEAS. 

The common English Pea is not cultivated as a field crop. 
The Cow Pea is extensively grown and produces excellent crops. 
It resembles the bean family in the appearance of its foliage and 
the manner of its growth. It is common to sow them between 
the rows of corn at the last plowing. They will produce from 
10 to 15 bushels per acre, besides a large amount of forage. On 
account of the luxuriant growth of vine, on poor soils even, its 
culture as a green crop, to be turned in, has been recommended. 

PEA-NUTS. 

The Pea-Nut, Pinder, Goober or Ground-Pea, as the plant is 
variously called, grows well on almost any warm, light soil. 
The seed should be planted early in the spring. The after cul- 
tivation is simple. A hundred bushels to the acre is an average 
crop. They are worth $2 50 to $3 00 per bushel. The nut pro- 
duces an oil, which is said to be equal to the finest olive oil. 



35 

RAMIE. 

• 

The Ramie plant has been recently introduced into Louisiana. 
It is believed it will become an important Southern staple. The 
plant produces a fibre of fine quality and glossy whiteness, which 
is used in manufacturing cloths, either by itself or mixed with 
silk or wool. It is a hardy and vigorous grower, and, in this 
climate, perennial. The Ramie belongs to the family of Urtica- 
cece, of which the common nettle is an example, and to which the 
hemp plant belongs. It is claimed that the fibre of the Ramie 
is stronger than the best European bemp ; that it may be spun 
as fine, as that of flax, and that it is doubly durable; that it will 
produce from three to five annual crops, each equal to the best 
gathered from hemp. 

AKROW ROOT. 

The Koonta, or Indian Arrow-root, grows wild in the south- 
ern portion of the peninsula. It was formerly manufactured 
quite extensively ; the sole labor consisting of bringing it from 
the forest lands and conveying it to the mill; the simple stirring 
occasioned by the digging being sufficient to secure a better 
crop than the one just removed. 

The Bermuda Arrowroot also flourishes, producing, even on 
pine lands, irom 200 to 800 bushels per acre. The yield of 
merchantable Arrow-root Flour, obtained by imperfect mills, is 
from six to eight lbs. to the bushel. 

WHEAT. RYE AND OAiS. 

Wheat has been grown in the northern part of the State, but 
is so uncertain a crop that it is not cultivated. Rye and Oats 
are raised to some extent, chiefly as forage crops. They should 
be sowed early in the winter. Unless the crop ripens before 
warm weather comes on, very little grain will be obtained. 



(2) GARDEN VEGETABLES. 

Under this head we shall notice the crops usually cultivated 
in market gardens, to the production of which the soil and cli- 
mate of Florida are admirably adapted. The growing of vege- 
tables for the northern markets has not, until recently, received 
any attention. In view of the fact, however, that vegetables 
grown here can be placed in the markets of the northern sea- 
board cities from a month to six weeks earlier than from any 



36 

other point, many have been encouraged to experiment, while 
some parties have engaged in the business quite extensively. 
TV 1 *bW difficulty which has been encountered is that of trans- 
portation. Mistakes have also been made in picking too green 
or too ripe ; and careful packing for shipment, has not received 
sufficient attention. The delays incident to transhipment at 
Savannah or Charleston, have been such that in several instances 
shipment? of Tomatoes have become utterly worthless on reach- 
ing New York. This year, however, the connections are closer, 
and we do not hear so much complaint. There is little doubt, 
however, that before another season, a line of steamers will run 
between Jacksonville and New York. This will save fro^m one 
to two days time on the papsage, beside the injury arising from 
re-shipment. Direct steam communication will enable the gar- 
deners on the St. Johns river to place in the New York market, 
in good condition, and with little risk, if properly packed, Toma- 
toes, Cucumbers, Green Peas, Snap Beans, Melons, Green Corn, 
&c, &c, as early in the season as required, and at a fair profit. 
We have little doubt that Florida will become, at no distant day, 
the early market garden of all the northern cities. Another 
year will see the business largely increased.* 



TOMATOES. 

The Tomato is easily cultivated, and produces abundantly. 
If the soil is not already in good condition, fertilizers should be 
used. It is bad policy to attempt to raise any garden crop on 
poor soil. It ripens from May to July. Early lots sell for 
almost marvelous prices in New York — $1,200 has been netted 
from a single acre. Col. Kodman, who has had much experi- 
ence with this crop, says it will yield from 400 to 500 bushels 
to the acre, in ordinary seasons. By the use of cold frames 
there would be no difficulty in having ripe Tomatoes at Jack- 
sonville in March, and by the aid of an ordinary hot bed they 
could be had during the entire winter. South of Palatka they 
are ripened in the open air every month in the year. 

CUCUMBERS. 

In May last, Florida Cucumbers were quoted at $10 per 
hundred in the New York Market. At this rate they would 
be an exceedingly profitable crop. The plant has to contend 

* Our statements as to the time of ripening, &c., of the various crops, 
apply to the latitude of Jacksonville, unless otherwise stated. As far 
south as Enterprise, nearly all the vegetables cultivated in a market 
garden, can be ripened any month in the year. 



37 

with few of the enemies which prove so destructive at the North. 
It is ready for market about the same time as the Tomato, and 
bears shipment exceedingly well. 

MELONS. 

There is no country where the AVatermelon attains greater 
perfection than in Florida, and we might add, where they can be 
raised with less care. The Muskmelon and Cantaleup also 
flouiish. Melons and Cucumbers should be planted in March ; 
April will do, however, for Melons, and sometimes is necessary 
— the first plants being occasionally destroyed by cold weather. 
Watermelons being bulky, and liable to injury from handling, 
are not so well adapted for shipment as Tomatoes and Cucum- 
bers; but thousands have been shipped the past season, and 
profitably laid down in New York. They are abundant all 
through June and July. 

PEAS. 

Soils that contain some lime, quite rich and moderately moist. 
are the best for Peas. The month of January is the best time 
to plant. The crop will then be ready for market in April, at 
which season Green Peas command high prices in New York. 
They bear shipment well, and will be found a profitable crop. 

BEANS. 

Beans of all kinds grow well, particularly the Lima Bean, 
which should be planted early in March. The Lima or Butter 
Bean, as it is commonly called, is found in almost every garden. 
Of its value as a market crop we are unable to speak. Snap 
Beans are very prolific, and their culture for shipment North is 
worthy of attention. 

OABBUGES AND TURNIPS. 

Cabbages succeed best in winter. Sown in the Fall they will 
produce fine heads in the Spring months. A rich and moist soil 
is best suited to this crop. Turnips can be had fresh nearly 
every month in the year. In the summer they do not bottom 
well, but are a valuable winter crop. Cauliflower, Brocoli, and 
Kohl Rabi are grown without difficulty. The latter is very 
common in our market. 

BEETS, &c. 

Beets do best in a dpep, rich, moist soil. For winter use 
plant in September or October; for Summer, in January or Feb- 



38 

ruary. Carrots and Parsnips should be treated in the same 
manner. None of these crops produce as well as at the North. 

MISCELLANEOUS CROPS. 

Nearly if not quite all the vegetables usually cultivated in a 
good family garden can be raised for home use. Squashes are 
grown with great ease and of the best quality. Onions grown 
from "sets" seem to produce best. Lettuce, Eadishes, Celery, 
&c, &c, grow to perfection ; also Peppers, Parsley, &c. As- 
paragus and Rhubarb succeed with the usual attention. The 
Egg Plant does finely. Okra is found growing in every garden. 
It is highly prized by the old residents. The edible part is the 
green seed-pods ; from these the celebrated gumbo soup is made. 
They are also boiled and served as Asparagus. 

It may be observed that with proper care and attention, fresh 
vegetables may be bad for the table every day in the year. For 
a family to be thus supplied would be desirable, both on the 
score o* : health and economy. In warm climates vegetable food 
is mote wholesome than animal, and we urge upon all new 
comers the importance of giving early attention to the kitchen 
garden. 



( a, FRUITS. 



Whatever opinion may be formed as to the adaptation of 
Florida to the successful cultivation of farm and garden crops, 
there can be but one opinion as to its fitness for the growth of 
tropical and semi-tropical Fruits. In this respect Florida en- 
joys a monopoly which, when fairly developed, will make her 
one of the richest and most important ofj the United States. 
Oranges, Lemons, Pine Apples, and various other tropical 
Fruits, will yield an average profit of at least one thousand 
dollars per acre yearly It is the adaptability of the climate 
to these productions, that makes even the inferior lands of 
Florida susceptible of producing crops more valuable than 
those of the best lands in other parts of the Union. The cult- 
ure of Fruit in Florida, without doubt, offers greater opportu- 
nities for practical and energetic Fruit Growers, than in any 
other part of the Union. It is the appreciation of this fact 
that is awakening such an interest in the business, and bring- 
ing to our shores large numbers from nearly every State. To 
supply, as far as possible, the general want of information 



39 

upon the subject of Fruit Culture in Florida, we have collated 
the following pages, from the materials in our possession, and 
from individual observation. 

ORANGES. 

The Orange belongs to the citrus family, in which are inclu- 
ded the Lemon, Lime, Citron, Shaddock and similar fruits. The 
varieties are numerous. In their native state they continue 
flowering nearly all the summer, and for a considerable portion 
of the year. Every stage of growth, from the flower and bud, to 
the ripe fruit, can be seen on the same tree. The sour Orange 
and the bitter-sweet grow wild upon the St. Johns and Indian 
risers, and in many other parts of the peninsula. A corres 
pondent of the New York World, writing from Indian River, 
says : " In the primeval woods on the banks are vast gardens 
of the sour wild Orange, the juice of which is acrid as vinegar, 
and when mixed with sugar and water makes an excellent 
beverage that has many tonic qualities, that act as a prevent- 
ive or cure to the light fevers of the country. These Oranges 
are to be found in nearly every part of the woods, and we often 
had to clear the ground of vast quantities of the iruit before 
we could pitch our tents." The Orange is a sure crop. The 
tree is long-lived, and has very few enemies. The scale insect, 
(coccus hesperidum,) which first made its appearance in 1838, and 
for a time proved a formidable enemy to the Orange tree.has near- 
ly or altogether disappeared. North of the 30th deg . of latitude, 
except on the St. Johns and Apalachicola rivers, the crop is 
somewhat doubtful, being liable to be cut off by frost. Once, 
indeed, since the settlement of the country — in 1835, — the Or- 
ange and most other fruit tree» were destroyed as far south as 
the 28th degree of latitude. At that time there were trees 
growing at St. Augustine more than one hundred years old. 

The Oranges of Florida are celebrated for their superior 
quality. At present the best method of establishing a grove 
is to set out the wild Orange trees, and, at the proper time, 
bud it with the sweet orange. The sour trees may be dug up 
at any time during the winter, and transplanted. They are 
usually cut off three to four feet from the ground at the time 
cf taking up. During the summer months shoots large enough 
to bud will start out ; two or three of the best are selected, 
and the others rubbed off. The buds grow the first year. The 
tree usually commences bearing the third year from transplant- 
ing. By the fifth year a grove well cared for, ought to average 
100 to the tree. The trees should be set 20 feet apart, which 
gives about 100 to the acre. Wild trees can be had in Jack- 
sonville at about $50 per hundred. They are brought from the 



40 

hummocks on the upper St. Johns. When the supply of wild 
Orange trees is exhausted, as it will be, doubtless, within a 
few years, resort to nursery stock will be necessary. But their 
propagation is not difficult. Grown from the seed, at the end 
of three years the trees will be five to six feet high, and an 
inch or more in diameter. These should be set out in the orch- 
ard and budded, as described for the wild stocks. 

The Orange will grow upon almost any soil, but in order to 
secure good crops, a moderate degree of fertility is required. 
There is no place where the tree does better than upon the 
shell hummocks, indicating that lime is a valuable fertilizer. 
This can easily be supplied in the shape of marl or shells, in 
any part of the State. Swamp muck is also a good manure. 

A grove in full bearing should average 500 to the tree- 
Many trees will bear from 1,000 to 3,000 per year. Mr. C F. 
Reed, of Mandarin, raised 12.(00 from three trees the past year 
— one tree bearing 3,200, one 3,300, and one 5,500, — some of 
them weighing nineteen ounces. William Edwards, Esq., 
of Micanopy has a fine grove of 72 trees in bearing, some of 
which bear from 2.000 to 3,000 Oranges each. 

In Jacksonville Oranges have sold, the past season, at from 
twenty-five to sixty dollars per thousand. Taking 500 as the 
average per tree, and 100 trees to the acre, and we have 50,000 
Oranges from an acre, which, at forty dollars per thousand, 
which may be taken as the average price, will give $2,000 ; 
while at twenty-five dollars, the lowest price at which good 
Oranges were sold, we have SI, 250 as the income from a single 
acre. It requires no great outlay of capital to start an Orange 
grcve, and its care involves no more labor than the care of an 
apple orchard of the same size. We leave it for parties inter- 
ested to calculate the profits arising from an Orange grove of 
ten acres in full bearing. We are quite sure that the credit 
side of the sheet will show that the profit of growing the Orange 
is larger in proportion to the expenditure of money and labor, 
than that derived from the cultivation of any other crop grown 
in the United States. The largest grove in the State is situa- 
ted on the east coast, near Cape Carnarcval. It is known as 
Dummit's Grove, from the name of the proprietor. It contains 
some 1,350 bearing trees, which have produced, in a single 
year, 700,000 Oranges. The soil is a light sandy loam, under- 
laid with a rotten limestone. We believe this is the only 
grove in. the State exceeding 1,000 bearing trees. 

LEMONS, LIMES, CITRONS, &c. 

It will be unnecessary to go into detail regarding these 
fruits, since the remarks which we have made with regard to 



41 

the soil, climate and culture required for the Orange, will 
apply equally to them. The Lemon is, perhaps, a trifle more 
hardy than the Orange. The Sicily Lemon, budded on the sour 
or bitler-swcet Orange, does finely. Last fall, R. B. Cram, 
Esq., of this city, sent to a friend in New York, some speci- 
mens of Oranges and Lemons, as samples of what Florida can 
raise ; in the collection was a small branch upon which grew 
seven lemons. Six of these averaged 13 inches in circumfer- 
ence, and the whole weighed just seven pounds. They were 
raised by M. I. Phillips, Esq., two miles from Jacksonville. 

The Lime is a prolific bearer, and a most wholesome and 
excellent fruit. In south Florida the tree is in bearing nearly 
the whole year. The green fruit makes a fine preserve. They 
are easily propagated and come into bearing early. Doubtless 
a good business could be done in raising them for the juice, 
which is an article of commerce. 

The Citron grows on a straggling 1 bush, which requires sup- 
port while the fruit is ripening. We have seen them six to 
eight inches in diameter, of a rich yellow color, hanging from 
the slender branches, fitting emblems of the golden fruits of 
autumn. The Citron does well wherever the Orange flourishes. 

The Shaddock resembles a large Lemon. It is a coarse 
fruit, and of little value except for culinary purposes. 

The Grape Fruit is similar to the Shaddock. 

All the above can be propagated by budding, more easily 
even, than the Orange. 

PEACHES. 

Tfie Peach attains its highest degree of perfection at the 
South. The trees possess more vigor and greater longevity 
than at the North. But little attention has been paid to the 
cultivation of the better varieties, but they seem to do equally 
well with the native seedlings, from which the greater portion 
of the fruit brought to our market is produced. So well adapt- 
ed is the climate to the growth of the Peach, that they are 
found growing wild by the road-sides and in the corners of 
the fences. With direct steam communication, there will be 
no difficulty in shipping them to New York, where during the 
months of June and July they would command high prices. 
D. Redmond, of Augusta, Georgia, late editor of the Southern 
Cultivator, says : " When the peach tree receives any thing 
like proper culture, or attention in our climate, it is liable to 
no diseases ; and is far more thrifty and long-lived than in 
more northern localities. We have no yellows, nor similar 
malady : and all that is necessary to keep the tree in perfect 
health is judicious pruning (shortening in) and frequent stir- 
ring of the surface soil around it." 



42 
GRAPES. 

The South is the true home of the Grape. It is found wild 
in the forests of Florida, and growing luxuriantly. In the 
southern part of the State three crops of grapes in a year are 
gathered. The Black Hamburg, White Muscat, Golden Chas- 
sales, and other foreign Grapes, grow and fruit finely in the 
open air. The Concord succeeds well, and is so much improved 
that it is nearly equal in quality to the Black Hamburg. The 
Scuppernong is cultivated more widely than any other variety. 
It makes a fine wine by the addition of a little sugar; equal 
to any manufactured in California, as we have been assured 
by good judges. Over 2,000 gallons have been made from an 
acre. But little attention has been given to vine culture, and 
doubtless varieties may be found better adapted to our soil 
and climate than any of those mentioned. 

FIGS. 

Of all the fruits cultivated in the South, says a distinguished 
horticulturist, the Fig requires the least care, and is one of 
the most productive and useful. It is propagated readily from 
cuttings, which usually bear the second year. During the 
summer months the Fig may be found upon the breakfast ta- 
bles of all lovers of fine fruit. When ripe it is mild, rich and 
luscious, without being cloying even to those of the most del- 
icate appetite. Being very perishable, it is valuable only for 
the home market. The dampness of the climate does not ad- 
mit of its being put up like the figs of commerce. This diffi- 
culty may doubtless be overcome by artificial means, and 
would make, the Fig an article of great commercial value to 
the State. A moist and fertile soil is best suited to the fig; but 
it grows readily in almost any location. Every one in Florida 
who owns a foot of land may literally " sit under his own vine 
and fig tree." 

POMEGRANATES. 

The Pomegranate is common in Florida. There are the sweet 
and sour varieties. The bush is a pretty ornamental shrub, 
and with its beautiful blossoms and pendant fruit is decidedly 
ornamental. The rind is very bitter, and has been used as a 
substitute for Peruvian bark ; but the juice, which is contained 
in little sacks surrounding the seeds, is a pleasant acid, and 
quite agreeable. 

APPLES, PEARS, AND QUINCES. 

These fruits have been cultivated in the northern part of the 
State, but we cannot recommend them as worthy of general 



43 

attention. There are instances of the Pear having been grafted 
on the wild Hawthorn with good results. The Quince, too, 
may succeed moderately well under favorable circumstances. 

PLUMS, CHERRIES, &g. 

The Plum grows wild all over the State, and some of the 
varieties are scarcely inferior to many of the cultivated sorts. 
The tree is not subject to " black knot," or other serious mala- 
dies. Doubtless the better varieties can be successfully worked 
on the wild stocks. The Cherry does not succeed well ; the 
Currant, also, has been reluctantly discarded. Apricots and 
nectarines succeed quite as well as the Peach. 

BERRIES. 

There is no place where the Blackberry is more perfectly at 
home, than in Florida. The running variety, or Dewberry, 
commences ripening early in April and continues in bearing till 
May, when the high Blackberry comes on, and continues in 
bearing until July. The Lawton was fruited by Dr. Sanborn 
last year. He says : " It did well, but needs moist ground." 
The Huckleberry grows everywhere, and is plenty in market 
during the month of May. The Strawberry is easily cultivated 
and bears abundant crops. It requires a moist and fertile soil. 
The fruit commences ripening in March, and the vines, if freely 
watered, mil continue in bearing for six months. Wilson's 
Albany is, perhaps, the best variety for this latitude. Hovey's 
Seedling also does well. The Mulberry grows wild, and bears 
two crops in a year. The northern Gooseberry and Cranberry 
do not succeed. 

THE OLIVE. 

The Olive has been successfully cultivated, and is deserving 
attention. Trees grown from the seed commence bearing the 
tenth year, and are fully productive about the twentieth or 
twenty-fifth. 

THE BANANA AND PINE-APPLE. 

In all the southern portion of the Peninsula the Banana does 
finely. In the northern part of the State they require protec- 
tion in winter. The Pine-apple also succeeds admirably in 
South Florida. It and the Banana are raised from suckers, 
which come into bearing about eighteen months after being 
planted. The stalks die after fruiting, and give place to suck- 



44 

ers which spring up around the parent stock. The Banana 
grows to the height of ten feet ; the Pine-apple to a height of 
about three feet. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Of strictly tropical fruits, that are worthy of attention, in 
addition to those above noticed, may be mentioned the Guava, 
Sappadillo, Sugar-apple, Tamarind, Alligator Pear, Pawpaw 
Plantain, Cocoa-nut, and perhaps the Date. All the above we 
have seen growing luxuriantly in South Florida. The Cocoa- 
nut is a large tree, rising above all the other trees of the forest. 
The fruit is ripening the year round. The Pecan-nut can be 
raised without difficulty, and probably the Almond. 

There is a broad field for experiment in connection with the 
productions of Florida. She is still a " terra incognita," to a 
great extent. Her capacities are comparatively untested and 
unknown. They await the hand of industry, enterprise and 
skill to develop them, and to make the " land, of flowers " not 
only the most salubrious, but in the variety and value of its 
productions, the most wealthy portion of the Union. 



w MISCELLANEOUS. 



STOCK, 

On much even of the poorer land in the State is to be found 
a large growth of Oaks, scattered among the Pines, which fur- 
nishes abundance of mast, on which, in the genial climate of 
Florida, with little care or protection, hogs can be raised ad 
libitum. They are to found everywhere, throughout the for- 
ests of the whole peninsula, half-wild and in good condition, 
finding easily an independent support. Kept, or rather un- 
kept, as they are, they are a nuisance ; but the fencing in of a 
sufficient " range," and the occasional distribution ot a little 
feed, would enable a farmer to raise hogs enough to furnish a 
considerable revenue. 

The whole territory is likewise covered with a more or less 
thick coat of divers wild grasses, which retain their greenness 
to a greater or less extent throughout the year. Cattle maintain 
themselves in good condition entirely without care. In the 
southern portion of the peninsula, are found large moist prai- 
ries, called savannahs, covered with tall grasses, which afford 
very good nutriment to cattle. Upon them large herds of cat- 
tle pasture, which are driven up occasionally by their owners ; 



45 

the beeves selected out, and the calves marked. Capt. McKay, 
of Tampa, has been engaged in the cattle trade for a number 
of years, running a line of steamers to Cuba two to three times 
a month, loaded with Florida beeves. During the war the 
Confederate authorities drew large supplies of beef from Flori- 
da. Some of the heavy cattle men own as many as 25,000 
head, and have made fortunes out of the business. 

Sheep also do well in Florida. It is doubtful if as fine a 
quality of wool could be raised, as far north ; but the mutton 
is of a superior quality. 



TIMBER AND LUMBER. 

Florida is, beyond question, the best timbered State in the 
Union. Out of about 38,000,000 acres, only some 3,000,000 is 
included in farms, and of the rest nineteen-twentieths, exclu- 
sive of the area covered by rivers and lakes, is covered with 
heavy forests. On all the least moist and more level portions 
the Pine is the prevalent forest tree, — either the yellow or the 
pitch Pine. It grows with great beauty, and attains a large 
size, furnishing some of the handsomest Pine Lumber to be 
found in the markets of the world. The extent of the Pine 
lands and the possible amount of Lumber that could be manu- 
factured, would be almost incredible to one who has never vis- 
ited Florida. There are probably more than 30,000 square 
miles of heavy Pine forest within the limits of the State. 

In the moister lands, along the rivers and creeks and on the 
margins and swamps, an almost infinite variety of trees is to be 
found, of which the more valuable for timber and lumber are 
Live Oak, White Oak, the Hickory the Ash, the Birch, the 
Cedar, the Magnolia, the Sweet Bay, and the Cypress. Of all 
these varieties a great abundance is to be found throughout 
the State. Of Pine of the best quality, of Cedar and Cypress 
in particular, the supply for any purposes of manufacture, 
may well be said to be inexhaustible. The larger proportion 
of what has loosely been called swamp in Florida, is simply 
low hummock, with a soil of inexhaustible fertility, and cover- 
ed with a dense growth of mainly Cypress, Magnolia and 
Sweet Bay. The timber of the Cypress more nearly resembles 
that of the northern Basswood than any thing else. It is not 
quite as close-grained, perhaps, but it is about the same weight 
and toughness, and is fully as easily worked, and can be used 
nearly as well for all the purposes to which Basswood is appli- 
ed. It is more easily split than Basswood ; but it is, with that 
exception, as susceptible of being warped and bent into desira- 
ble shapes. For clothes-pins, for fork and rake and broom 



46 

handles, and for pails and tubs, Cypress furnishes an excellent 
material ; while the red Cedar of the coast and swamps and 
rivers, would yield the best known material for the pails and 
tubs of a nicer and more costly description. 

The timber of the Magnolia also is susceptible of a variety of 
uses ; similar to Basswood in color and fineness of grain it can 
be brought to a fine polish, and is already being used for the 
nicer and finer kinds of wheelwright and cabinet work. Of 
this timber the supply is very large. 

The wood of the Red or Sweet Bay, in fineness of texture and 
in its other valuable qualities, stands next to Mahogany, and 
will, ere long, be in demand for cabinet work ; it abounds in 
the State. 

The resources of Florida, in the direction of the manufacture 
of wooden ware, and of tools of all descriptions made from 
wood, have not only as yet never been developed, but have 
hardly been suspected. If an inexhaustible abundance of ma- 
terial, at the cheapest possible rates, and very great accessibility 
by water communication, are of any value and importance in 
promoting the success of wooden manufacture, then this bids 
fair to become a leading industrial pursuit in this State. 

Soon after the close of the war, the business of manufactur- 
ing Lumber was overdone, and was engaged in by many un- 
accustomed to the work, consequently failure of course occur- 
ed, and many mills stand idle. "Whoever shall purchase these 
mills and convert them first into manufactories of wooden 
ware will have an excellent prospect of a large and lucrative 
business. 



NAVAL STOKES. 

The extensive Pine forests of Florida already furnish em- 
ployment to a large number engaged in the production of 
Naval Stores. In 1866 over $100,000 worth of Spirits of Tur- 
pentine was manufactured ; also, large quantities of Rosin. 
The trees in Florida have a much longer running season than 
those of North or South Carolina. They are boxed in the win- 
ter. On the approach of warm weather they commence run- 
ning, and continue until cold weather in the fall. The crude 
turpentine which collects in the boxes is removed every month. 
It is worth about 75cts. per cwt., wherever there is a still. One 
hand will take care of 12,000 boxes, which will yield 50 bbls. 
- of spirits of Turpentine, and 200 bbls. of Rosin in a good sea- 
son. Rail or water transportation should be near at hand, as 
■ freight is an important item. The business has been yearly 
increasing, and has been remunerative. 



47 

GAME AND FISH. 

The great abundance of Oysters, Fish and Game to be found 
in the greater portion of the State, form an inducement of 
force with many, both on the ground of business and economy, 
as well as on account of the opportunity afforded to sportsmen. 
Every where on the coast, both of the Ocean and the Gulf, 
excellent Oysters abound. The Oysters of St. Andrews 
Bay are celebrated through the South, and those of Indian 
River are larger, finer and still more abundant. And off more 
than half the Florida coast, Turtle in immense quantities and 
of great size, are continually taken ; but the capacity of these 
waters for Oysters and Turtle is almost inexhaustible. 

Fish, too, of the best quality, is to be found on all the coasts 
and in all the lakes and rivers, forming a cheap, easily attaina- 
ble and very wholesome article of diet, and giving opportunity 
for business in this direction to almost any extent. It is no 
exaggeration to say that the bays and inlets, as well as rivers of 
Florida SAvarm with valuable fish — Mullet, Bass, Sheeps-head, 
Trout — salt-water and fresh, and innumerable other varieties, 
abound ; and latterly it has been discovered that very valuable 
Shad Fisheries may be carried on in various localities. 

Turkeys, Duck, Squirrels, Deer and Bear are to be found 
throughout the State, and perhaps no part of the United States 
can furnish a more exciting or agreeable winter hunting ground 
than Indian River and the Gulf coast. 

While the larger portions of the North and West are covered 
with snow, and the frost holds absolute and iron sway, the 
hunter in the Indian River region, may comfortably camp out, 
month after month, with a single blanket, taking as he needs 
his Sweet Potatoes from the ground, and the Orange, Lemon 
and Banana from the plantations along the route, and in the 
contiuous sunshine of an unending Spring, surfeit himself with 
the pursuit of game. 

The gathering of Sponge, and the taking and preservation 
of Fish, Game and Turtle for the northern market, pursued 
somewhat in the past, are bound in the future to furnish lu- 
crative occupation to the labor and enterprise of multitudes. 

Key West is the headquarters of the Sponge business. Large 
quantities are annually gathered in the shallow waters along 
the coast : The Key West Dispatch says that over four thou- 
sand dollars worth of Sponge have been shipped from that 
port within the last two months. These shipments do not in- 
clude the finer quality, known as the sheep-wool, but are con- 
fined to the grass and glove Sponges alone. The recent impe- 
tus to this business gives employment to two hundred men and 
boys, thus affording those fond of "sponging" an opportunity 
of engaging in it in a profitable way. 



48 

SALT. 

The Manufacture of Salt was carried on all along the coast 
during the war, and is to some extent at the present time. The 
late Wm. C. Dennis, Esq., of Key West, had just completed at 
the commencement of the war, extensive Salt Works on the 
Island of Key West, for the manufacture of Salt by solar evap- 
oration. Mr. Dennis had given much attention to the subject, 
and was confident of success, but the war coming on the busi- 
ness was abandoned. The Avater of the Gulf is said to be Salter 
than that of the Atlantic, and all along the coast are excellent 
locations for extensive Salt Works. 



GEIERAL IIFOEIATIOI. 



HOW TO GO ; AND THE EXPENSE. 

The usual, and perhaps the cheapest, and upon the whole 
the most comfortable route to Florida, is by Steamer from New 
York, direct to Fernandina or to Savannah, and thence to 
Jacksonville. Settlers coming by this route, can forward their 
heavy baggage and household furniture by sailing vessel from 
New York, or Boston, or Philadelphia. 

Another route is by Eailroad, via Washington and Eichmond 
to Charleston or Savannah, and thence by Steamer to Jack- 
sonville ; or by Eailroad the whole distance. The latter is most 
rapid, but least uncomfortable and most expensive. By Steam- 
er, the expense from New York is from $35 to $40, and by the 
all-railroad route would probably be 850. These routes require 
from three to five days. 

A cheaper route would be by sailing vessel from any of several 
of the northern ports, from which vessels are frequently clearing 
for Florida, seeking freights of lumber. Many of the vessels 
are neat and roomy, and easily could, and if required undoubt- 
edly would, afford very comfortable accommodation for passen- 
gers. The expense by this route would be much less than by 
any other, and passengers, at little cost, could bring with them 
their household goods and furniture, and the thousand articles 
of comfort that are as desirable as they are expensive to replace. 
A passage thus by sailing vessel, would require, upon an aver- 
age, some ten days, although within the past season, vessels 
have made the passage by sail from New York in five days. 
The accessibility of Florida by such a variety of routes is not 



49 

the least recommendation she can offer to those proposing to 
change their location. 

WHEN IS IT BEST TO STAKT? 

As far as the mere question of preparing for business, wheth- 
er agricultural or other, or of engaging in it is concerned, an 
arrival at any time within three months after September 1st is 
well-enough timed, but on account of health and comfort, the 
immigrant may as well so time his departure, as to arrive in 
October, November or December. 

Thus he will escape the severe weather of the most uncom- 
fortable season of the year, and will have opportunity for par- 
tial acclimation during the season which is most favorable to 
health here. The continuous warm weather of June, Ju\y and 
August is somewhat trying to the vigor even of long residents, 
and would be much more so to new comers. Any predisposi- 
tion to fever or bilious complaints generally, would be aggra- 
vated by an arrival before the 1st of September, and in any 
event, it would lie more prudent to avoid any such danger. 

Again, if one is disposed to settle upon new land, time will 
thus be given to clear and prepare for a summer crop whatever 
land is desired ; while if the settler prefers to purchase an im- 
proved farm, be will then be in season to put in a winter crop 
of vegetables or grain, or to establish his vineyard or fruit or- 
chard, as lie chooses. 

MEANS OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATION. 

Owing to I he same cause before referred to, viz: the want of 
a- stable and long-continued government; and also on account 
of the Bparseness of the population, Florida is not well provided 
with roads and other artificial facilities for internal communi- 
cation. Post Routes are not numerous, and roads are hardly 
worthy of the name, and few at that. Luckily, a very large 
proportion of the Pine land being burned over to renew the 
grass, is nearly destitute of underbrush, and therefore presents 
little obstruction to travelling on horse-back. 

This difficulty of communication over land is enhanced by 
the almost entire lack of any public means of conveyance, so 
that the traveller is compelled to rely upon his own resources 
in great measure. 

But the abundance of lakes and navigable rivers relieves 
large portions of the State by furnishing frequent opportuni- 
ties of journeying by boat. The Apalachicola and the St. Johns 
and Indian Rivers, with their numerous tributaries, give the 
means of very extensive and very convenient intercommunica- 
4 



50 

tion by boat. A journey from the mouth of the St. Johns to 
the extreme southern point on Indian River, only involves the 
necessity of a very short portage by land, from Salt Lake to 
Sand Point, and a few insignificant " haul-overs," as they are 
called ; and one can make his way to the very centre of the 
State by boating up the Ocklawaha and its connections with 
numerous lakes. 

Steamers run regularly on the St. Johns, the Ocklawaha 
and the Apalachicola. Steamers also touch at regular inter- 
vals along the whole western coast, from Pensacola to Key 
West. 

Eailroad communication is effected, by daily trips by car from 
Jacksonville to Savannah, and Quincy, Tallahassee, and Fernan- 
dina ; and from Cedar Keys semi- weekly. The Eailroad from 
Jacksonville westward is already projected to Pensacola, and will 
soon be completed to the Apalachicola River. Other Railroads 
are in contemplation by different routes through several sec- 
tions of the State, and such is the face of the country, and the 
abundance of timber, and the agricultural richness and capacity 
of the State, that under circumstances of a favorable character, 
a very great improvement in the means and facilities of inter- 
nal intercommunication, within a short period, may be counted 
upon with certainty. 

As will appear elsewhere in this pamphlet, the State is pe- 
culiarly adapted to the raising of various vegetable crops, with 
a certainty of great profit, as the character of climate will ena- 
ble the producers to reach sufficient markets at the North so 
early as to defy competition. And the consummation of the 
hopes and wishes of the producers of these crops only requires 
sufficiently frequent and direct communication with the great 
cities of the North. 

A line of staunch sea-going steamers direct from New York 
to Fernandina has been established during the past season, 
and there can be but little doubt that the results of the exten- 
sive experiments in the raising of vegetables in the valley of 
the St. Johns, that have been carried on during the present 
season, will very soon secure the establishment and support of 
direct steam communication between the St. Johns region and 
New York, which, more than any other single arrangement, 
will make the future of Florida a certainty. 

PRICES OF LANDS. 

It is difficult to give satisfactory replies to the many ques- 
tions in reference to the price of lands. In fact land is from 
fifty cents to one hundred dollars per acre. There are in the 
State, probably, 18,000,000 acres of U. S. Government lands, 
all of which are open to entry under the homestead law. While 



51 

the best of these lands and those most accessible have already 
been entered, there is still an immense amount of very good 
land upon which settlers can effect entries for homesteads. 

There is also a large amount, probably more than 6,000,000 
acres of land, belonging to the State, Avhich is open to purchase 
at from fifty cents to five dollars per acre. Of this, also, only 
th'e less accessible and that of least intrinsic value is in the 
market. Here, as in the other sections of the country, the value 
of land in the market depends upon its vicinity to the villages 
and cities, and upon its facilities for communication, as much 
as upon its intrinsic worth. Plantations that are partially 
cleared and having some improvements, such as buildings and 
fences, are worth from $3 to $10 per acre. Along the St. Johns 
improved lands, especially those in the vicinity of Jacksonville 
and Palatka, are much higher. Lands having Orange groves 
in bearing, while estimated at from $50 to $150 per acre, are 
scarcely to be bought at any price. ■■■ 

Average Pine land, somewhat removed from the settle- 
ments, can be purchased in small lots at not unreasonable 
prices, and in large lots can be had at a very cheap rate. Col- 
onies of immigrants by combination, could thus buy homes for 
all at a slight expenditure. 

The value of land, of all kinds, is rapidly increasing in the 
more desirable portions of East Florida, and the confident ex- 
pectation of immediate reconstruction under the new Consti- 
tution, will add rapidly to the enhancement of prices. 

Much of the choicest land in the State, — that which was se- 
lected years ago by men most familiar with the quality of land, 
has for many years remained in the hands of the original 
grantees of the Spanish and English Governments, or their 
heirs. These grants were, many of them, of enormous extent. 
A vicious and unequal system of taxation, loosely administered, 
has hitherto favored this long-continued sequestration of the 
more valuable lands. Belonging to non-resident parties, diffi- 
cult of access and never fairly assessed, they have measurably 
escaped taxation on that account. They have constituted a 
practical land monopoly of the worst description, and have 
operated largely to obstruct the settlement of the immense 
territory of the 'State. 

But the new Constitution, adopting an equitable and im- . 
partial system of taxation, by which the burdens of the State 
Government will be equally borne by all the property of the 
State, will, in its just and legitimate operation, Aery soon com- 
pel a fair valuation and taxation of all these immense vacant 
and unproductive tracts, and thus they will come into market, 
and make possible the rapid development of the agricultural 
resources of the State. 



52 

Generally, it may be said that the price of land need be no 
obstacle to deter the immigration of any — an abundance of 
good land can be had at reasonable prices. 

BUILDINGS, THEIR CHARACTER AND EXPENSE. 

As is true of all other newly settled regions, the customs 
and fashions prevalent at large, do not require as expensive a 
style of dwelling houses or places of business, as in older-settled 
sections, and in consecpience of this, as well as on account of 
the mildness of the climate, the strong, tight, and expensive 
houses of the North would be not only not needed, but would 
in fact be out of character. 

A man who would feel constrained, in order to sustain a 
character for respectability as a reputable farmer at the North, 
and indeed in order to make his family comfortable during the 
rigorous Avinters there, to expend from 11,500 to $2,500 for a 
farm dwelling-house, would not require, and indeed would not 
think of expending more than $500 to $1,200 tor a dwelling- 
house in Florida. 

A very large proportion of the dwelling-houses in Florida, 
not only on the farms and plantations, but in the towns and 
villages, are built by covering a frame with a weather-boarding 
of common boards, nailed on vertically and then battened, 
while the inner partitions are made m the same way, or lathed 
and plastered, as the occupant chooses. And these simple 
houses, neatly white- washed, with their invariable roomy piaz- 
zas, so entirely indispensable in this climate, and looking out 
through the dark shade of the oak, the magnolia, the oleander 
or the china tree, are not only pleasant to the eye, but tho- 
roughly comfortable and sufficient for ample protection against 
the severest weather ever knoAvn here. 

One peculiarity of the dwelling-houses in Florida, that at- 
tracts the attention of all strangers, is that they are destitute 
entirely of cellars. The houses are built upon wooden posts or 
brick pillars, standing elevated some two to four feet above the 
surface of the earth, and thus giving ample opportunity for 
that thorough ventilation which is essential to health and 
comfort. Occasionally a small cellar can be found, but they 
are. very rare. Thus the settler is relieved from a heavy item 
in the necessary expense of building a house at the North. 

COST OF CLEARING LAND. 

The cost of clearing land varies as much as the price of 
land. What are called " Low Hummock " lands are exceeding 
rich, and while they give when cleared, a soil of great depth 
and of inexhaustible fertility, they are covered with the densest 
conceivable growth of trees, shrubs and plants. The trees are 



53 

large and stand thickly together, and with the undergrowth 
form an almost impenetrable mass of vegetable growth. To 
clear thoroughly such land requires much labor, of course. 
Probably the strong, thick, " low hummock" will cost in clear* 
ing, from $20 to $40 per store. 

The pine lands are more easily cleared. The trees often 
stand at some distance from each other, and a common prepar- 
ation of these lands, for cultivation, is made by girdling the 
trees and cutting out the undergrowth. The year after gird- 
ling, the tops of the trees ;tre dead and offer no impediment to 
the rays of the sun, and a crop may be planted, the trunks 
remaining to be removed at leisure. These lands can be clear- 
ed at slight expense, costing from $4 to $10 per acre. 

Excepting the treeless Western Prairies, there are no lands 
of average fertility jn the whole country that can more easily. 
cheaply and rapidly be prepared for crops, than the pine lands 
of Florida. A new comer, arriving in September or October, 
can with little expenditure, within twelve months transform ;» 
piece of wood tract into ;i Held waving "with a various and val- 
uable harvest. 

WAGES OF LABOR. 

There is ;i scarcity of field labor, in some parts of the State, 
particularly the more remote, on account of the strong disposi- 
tion of the Freedmen, who constitute so large an element of 
the field laborers, to gather together and in the immediate vi- 
cinity of the larger towns. Still, proprietors that deal kindly 
and honorably with their help, are seldom at a loss for such 
help as they need. 

The ordinary method in the employment of field hands is to 
hire by the month, giving a certain agreed price per month, 
and adding the usual rations : and the rate of wages per month 
has been, during the current year, from ,$10 to $13, with ra- 
tions; which are estimated to be worth $6 per month addi- 
tional. Field and ot her manual labor, by the day, has been 
worth from 75c. to $3 .5t >. 

Skilled labor of mechanics of all kinds is in demand at a fair 
compensation, say from $2 to $3.50 per day. Job-work, by 
all kinds of mechanics, is charged at a much higher rate com- 
paratively. 

The State is much better provided with all kinds of profess* 
ional skill than of mechanical. The professions of Law and 
Medicine are largely represented ; but good Blacksmiths, Car- 
penters, Masons and Shoemakers, would find abundant em- 
ployment. 

A good man, with either a | >r< >fessi< in or a trade, can easily and 
profitably carry on a small farm or garden, thus saving all lost 
time, and contribn ting to the necessary expenses of his family. 



54 

EXPENSE OF LIVING. 

An erroneous notion seems widely prevalent, that the neces- 
sary household expenses of a family, living in Florida, are enor- 
mous ; and, no doubt one who comes here for a short time and 
takes up his abode at a Hotel or Boarding-house, will have 
reason to believe there is good foundation for the notion refer- 
red to. 

Eents are undoubtedly high in the larger towns, but this is 
partly owing to the fact that the unsettled condition of affairs, 
social and political, has hitherto prevented the investment of 
capital in building, and the supply of tenements is short, and 
consequently rents are correspondingly high. 

There are also one or two more of the leading items in the 
expense of house-keeping, that are unreasonably high, such as 
flour, sugar and pork ; but with these exceptions, the necessary 
expenses of living are no higher here than at the North, as fish 
and fresh meats are correspondingly cheap. 

At our request, Mr. Eobert B. Cram, a leading Grocer and 
Provision Dealer on Bay Street, in the City of Jacksonville, 
has very kindly furnished us with a list of the more ordinary 
articles required in keeping house, with their average prices 
during the past year. Mr. Cram is a large dealer, and a man 
whose character gives authority to any statement he may make : 

Flour, f) bbl., . ... $11 @ "$17 YeastPowders,f>box, 20c.@ 25c 

Pork, " " .... 22 @ 30 Hominy, $)ft>, 5.® 6 

Bacon, ribbed, $>ft>, 15c.@17c.Meal, $> bush., 160 @200 

" cl'rrib'd,"" 18 @20 Tea, Japanese, ^ft>,150 

Sugar, Cof. "C"," " v 17 " Old Hyson," " 175 

" Brown, '"'<< 15 « Young" ""140 

" Crushed,"" 20 " Com. Black" " 100 

" Pulv'd, "" 20 « " Gunpowd., " " 200 

Coffee, Rio, ...."" 25 @ 30 Soap, Babbitt's, " " 20 

" Java,..."" 42 @ 50 " Yellow, "" 15 

il j Roast & ust 1e r, <)k Peaches, 2-J cans, . . 50 

( ground, lb m ** " 10Tb " . . 300 

Pepper, whole, " " 50 Soda, Baking, 20 

" grou'd, " " 60 " Washing, ... 10 

Pickles, 1 gall, jars, 1,25 Codfish, 10 

" i " " 75 Butter, 50 @ 70 

Hams, covered, f>ft> 20 @ 22 Vinegar, .... f?gal., 60 @100 

" naked, . . " " 15 @ 20 Syrup, " " 75 @150 

Should'rs, smok." " 14 @ 18 Molasses, •••"." 60 @100 
Sides, dry salted, " " 15 @ 18 Hecker's self-rais'g ) Kr . ~ fin 
Cheese, factory, "" 20 @ 25 Flour,in61bpkges, [ ou ® w 

Milk,condens.,ffcan,35 @ 40 Rice, f) flb 12 @ 15 

Yeast Cakes, f^pkge, 25 Peaches, dried, " " 30 @ 40 



55 

Apples, dried, <p ft 15c@ 20c.Brooms, each, 25c@ 50c 

Lard, " « 20 @ 25 Pepper Sauces, 25 

Eggs, fldoz. 30 @ 50 Ketchup, 25 @ 40 

Com, f»bush.l50 @170 

In a country where the owner of a few acres of land, worth 
not exceeding $o per acre, having 100 bushels of corn, may 
raise and fat, with little care and almost no other expense, a 
herd of swine as large as he chooses, and where salt from the 
Salt Springs or from sea-water can be more easily manufactured 
than elsewhere, in the whole world, the price of pork is exor- 
bitant. And the same is equally true of sugar. No where on 
earth can sugar be raised more easily or more abundantly. The 
cane does well everywhere in the State, and on Indian River, 
and in South Florida, and on the Gulf Coast, cane grows from 
five to ten consecutive years without replanting. Yet much of 
the Sugar for home consumption in the State, is imported from 
the North ; thus out-doing in absurdity the ''carrying of coals 
to Newcastle." 

But with one or two such exceptions, it is apparent from the 
inspection of the list, that the ordinary expenses of living are 
not larger than the average in even the older of the States. 

And even the apparent expenses of sustaining a family are 
largely diminished in the case of those who live out of the vil- 
lages upon farms, by the facility with which a cow or two, a 
few pigs, and a large stock of poultry may be kept. 

For a man of family with small means there is no cheaper 
country than Florida. 

NATURAL RESOURCES FOR FERTILIZERS. 

As has already been remarked, the soil of most of the State 
is light and sandy upon the surface, although much of it is 
underlaid by clay or marl, and at no great depth. Hence, by 
the intelligent immigrant the natural and convenient resources 
for manures, if any, of the region will be investigated. 

The first and most widely distributed means, for restoring 
and invigorating the fertility of the soil, whenever exhausted, 
is furnished by the swamps and lagoons and cypress sinks that 
may be found in all sections. In many of the swamps and 
lagoons are to. be found large and accessible deposits of what is 
called muck, which at the will and leisure of the farmer may 
be drawn out and applied directly to the land, or may be com- 
posted with lime, ashes, salt or manures, and thus improved 
becomes available to almost any desirable extent. In many of 
the sinks or depressions where the cypress is found are similar 
deposits of vegetable mould or muck, and these sinks are 
scattered, of various sizes, throughout the State, 



56 

Along the rivers, and the banks of many of the lakes, also, 
are to be found very large and numerous deposits of muck or 
mud. Experience in Florida has proved that the muck used 
as a fertilizer, under proper management, becomes an exceed- 
ing valuable article, and it is to be found in immense quanti- 
ties in every section. 

There is reason also to believe that the clay itself which lies 
underneath and close to the surface of a very large proportion 
of the sandy regions of the State, is of itself one of the best 
fertilizers when applied to and mixed directly with the sandy 
surface soil. No sufficient and reliable experiments in this di- 
rection have been announced, but it is reasonable that such an 
admixture of soils of different characters will be as beneficial 
here as at the North, where it has been eminently successful. 

The immense deposits of oyster shells that are characteristic 
of the whole coast line, located in the immediate vicinity of 
dense forests giving ample stores of fuel, form another of the 
sources of agricultural strength of incalculable value, that will 
be more and more appreciated. 

Inland, upon the banks of the rivers and lakes, and some- 
times quite inland, are to be seen frequent accumulations of 
shells — periwinkle and conch — in great bulk, and also of great 
value, being already through the operation of the elements, per- 
fectly adapted to immediate and profitable use. These " shell 
mounds" are often of great bulk, forming very respectable 
hills, whose origin has excited much inquiry and speculation. 
Some of the shell mounds on the banks of the upper St. Johns 
are 20 and 30 feet in depth, and near the mouth are oyster- 
shell mounds that are higher still and cover acres of land. 

Marl, likewise, of various character and value, is easily acces- 
sible in different parts of the State. There are several large 
deposits within 25 miles of Jacksonville, and a recent discovery 
has revealed the existence of a very large deposit of green marl, 
in the County of Leon. Without doubt an abundance of this 
valuable material will be discovered, whenever a scientific in- 
vestigation in this direction shall be made. 

Thus, it is evident, that with abundant and accessible sup- 
plies of clay, lime, marl and muck, under any reasonably skill- 
ful agricultural management, an improvement rather than a 
deterioration of the capacity of the soil may be expected. 

INSECTS AND KEPTILES. 

It is not true that Florida is infested to an unusual degree 
by reptiles or insects. It is true that in localities particularly 
adapted to the support of insect and reptile life, there are a 
good number of Sand-flies and Musquitoes, and that in certain 
scattered localities there are to be found the Eattle-*snake and 



the Moccasin, and a variety of harmless snakes. It is also 
true that in the lagoons and rivers there are multitudes of Alli- 
gators. 

But, on the other hand, it is well known in Florida that 
there are not nearly as many Rattle-snakes as there are in 
some parts of New England even, though the snakes of Florida 
are larger in size. The writer has passed over a large portion 
of Florida within the year, and has travelled many score of 
miles on foot, through the woods in different parts of the State, 
and has yet to meet the first Rattle-snake or Moccason in a wild 
state. Many old residents say that it is comparatively rare to 
meet a venomous snake. Month after month passes, and no 
rumor of any injury from the bite of a snake is heard ; and 
many a northerner is heard to declare that^they do not see as 
many snakes here as at the North. 

Along the rivers and swamps there are Musquitoes in quan- 
tities, beyond a question, but this is as true of swamps through- 
out the country. 

Solon Robinson, in one of his letters, says that he has known 
them as bad North and West, and even worse, in the immediate 
vicinity of New York. They arc an undeniable nuisance, but 
no more so in Florida than in half the United States. 

In many sections, it is true, that Aligators abound, some of 
them attaining very great size — but they, although not attract- 
ive in appearance, are in fact practically harmless, as few if any 
instances of their meddling with any human being are heard 
of, even in tradition. 

Fleas are an abounding affliction during some three months 
in the year, but no worse here than in many other places. 

Cockroaches, like the poor, are with us always. 

It is not denied that insects and reptiles abound in Florida ; 
but it is asserted without fear of contradiction, that this asser- 
tion is no more true of Florida than of a large portion of the 
South particularly, and therefore should be no cause of special 
objection against her. Inde< id lie' annual burning of the grass 
effectually prevents the rapid increase of reptiles of all kinds. 

POLITICAL CONDITION AND PROSPECTS. 

After th« close of the war the State Government was reor- 
ganized under the auspices of President Johnson, and as super- 
vized by the military authorities has been continued under the 
Reconstruction legislation of Congress. The political and 
social condition of the people has been, perhaps, better than in 
any of the seceding States, and instances of outrage have been 
rare. The opposition to the reconstruction policy of Congress 
has been less violent and less general than in any other South- 
ern State, and the resumption of friendly relations, political, 



58 

social and financial, with the other States, is regarded with very 
general satisfaction. 

The Convention elected under the legislation of Congress 
assembled at the Capitol on the 20th day of January, 1868, 
and after a brief session completed their work by the formation 
of a State Constitution, which, on being submitted to the peo- 
ple, was ratified by a large majority. The Constitution having 
been approved by Congress, and all the conditions of the recon- 
struction acts having been complied with, Florida has been 
readmitted to the National Councils, and has resumed her 
appropriate position among her sister States. 

The new Constitution of Florida has been criticised severely, 
as was to be expected, and grave objections have been made to 
some of its provisions ; but on the whole we believe it will 
compare favorably with the Constitutions of the other States, 
and that under it none of the rights of the people can be with- 
held or impaired. 

The Executive power of the State is vested in a Governor, 
who is elected for four years. The Legislative power is vested 
in a Senate and Assembly. The former consists of twenty-four 
members elected for four years ; the latter, of fifty-three mem- 
bers elected for two years. The first Tuesday after the first 
Monday in November is designated for the election of State 
and County Officers and Members of the Legislature. Annual 
sessions of the Legislature are to be held commencing on the 
first Tuesday after the first Monday in January. 

The Judicial power is vested in a Supreme Court, Circuit 
Courts, County Courts and Justices of the Peace. The State 
is divided into seven Circuits. Two terms of the Circuit Court 
are held yearly in each County. The Supreme Court is to be 
held at the Capitol of the State. 

There are some features of the new Constitution that are 
eminently worthy of notice. 

1st, It secures immediate and absolute civil and political rights to all 
before the law, irrespective of race, color or condition. Neither the words 
white or black, are to be found in the instrument. Its spirit is that of 
equal right and impartial justice to all. 

2d, It provides with the utmost liberality for a noble and generous and 
comprehensive System of Education, consisting of free Public Schools, 
Seminaries, and a University, equally open to all, and depending for suf- 
ficient support upon general taxation of all real and personal property. 

3d, It makes provision for a uniform and equable assessment of all 
property of every description in the State, and for a just and equal taxa- 
tion of the same. 

4th, It relieves the persons of the poor almost entirely from taxation, 
by limiting the capitation tax for any and all purposes to one dollar per 
annum, thus throwing the burden of taxation mainly upon the property 



59 

5th, It exempts a liberal Homestead and a generous allowance of per- 
sonal property : "A Homestead to the extent of one hundred and sixty 
" acres of land, or the half of one acre within the limits of any incorporated 
"city or town, owned by the head of a family residing in this State, 
" together with one thousand dollars worth of personal property shall 
" be exempted from forced sale under any process of law." Such is the 
language of the Constitution, which also secures the mechanics' and la- 
borers' lien upon property to which his labor has given an added value, 
by providing : " But no property shall' be exempt from sale for taxes, or 
" for the payment of obligations contracted for the purchase of said prem- 
" ises, or for the erection of improvements thereon." 

6th, All Officers are liable to impeachment and removal, not only for 
the usual causes, but for drunkenness, gambling and conduct detrimental 
to good morals. 

7th, Bribery, betting and duelling exclude from suffrage. 

8th, It repudiates forever Secession and Slavery. 

9th, It extends an equal participation in all rights and privileges to all 
of foreign birth who have declared their intention to become citizens of 
the United States. 

10th, " The Legislature shall enact laws requiring educational qualifi- 
" tions for electors after the year 1880, but no such law shall be made 
" applicable to any elector who may have registered and voted at any 
" election previous thereto." 

Such are some of the leading characteristics of the new Con- 
stitution, which, as before remarked, will compare not unfa- 
vorably with that of ffny other State. 

The return of Florida to its normal condition, as one of the 
Galaxy of States which make up the American Union, with 
the prospect of a peaceful and permanent Government in the 
future, will, we believe, induce thousands to turn their atten- 
tion in this direction, who have heretofore hesitated either to 
invest capital or to settle in our midst. 

INDUCEMENTS TO IMMIGRATION. 

The various and prominent inducements which Florida is 
now offering to different classes of immigrants may be summed 
up briefly as follows : 

HEALTH. — Generally, experience, reason and statistics all 
show that continued health may be anticipated, with as good 
grounds of confidence in Florida as in any other state in the 
Union ; and to those suffering from Pulmonary, Catarrhal, 
Rheumatic, or Cutaneous diseases, the climate and mineral 
waters of Florida furnish a desirable specific. 

It can be proved on any street in any of the large towns, that 
men who were weak and feeble and ailing at the North, have 
for years enjoyed entire exemption from serious illness here. 



60 

For weak lungs and exhausted vigor, no portion of the world 
can give better hope of restoration than is given here. 

CHEAP LAND. — To men of small means, consideration 
will be given to the fact that land in all parts of the State 
can be procured at very low prices. Under existing laws, 
Florida contains eighty-acre homesteads for more than two 
hundred thousand families. She has many millions of acres 
that can be bought for fifty cents per acre — and improved 
ground can be had for just about the price of clearing, while 
large tracts of land, suitable for the establishment of colonies, 
can be had upon terms that should satisfy any reasonable man. 

EASE OF TILLAGE.— Except in case of new hummuck, 
the ease and rapidity with which the great bulk of the lands 
can be cultivated, forms another and very important induce- 
ment to settlers. Lands in Florida are, as a rule, worked with 
less of force than anywhere at the North. They are, whether 
loam}'", clayey, or sandy, much more friable, and far more easily 
tilled. Almost all the plowing in the State is accomplished by 
the use of single teams, which practice, although not always 
to be commended, still indicates the facility with which the 
soil can be worked. A farmer, with a single horse or mule, 
can accomplish the plowing of as targe a surface, or the subse- 
quent tending by means of the plow or horse hoe in Florida, 
in three days, as can be accomplished by the use of the same 
team in Vermont, New Hampshire, or Massachusetts, in five 
days. » 

WIDE SCOPE OF CROPS.-Another inducement of weight 
is found in the wide possible selection of crops, to which the 
settler, at his own election, may turn his attention. With 
almost equal hope of success, he may raise Eye, Corn, Oats, 
Eice, Beans, Peas, or Cotton, Tobacco, Sugar, Indigo, or Irish 
Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Yams, Turnips, Beets, Carrots, Cab- 
bages, Eutabagas, Melons, Squashes, Cucumbers : or go largely 
into fruits, such as Oranges, Limes, Lemons, Peaches, Figs, 
Grapes and. Plums ; and if he elects to settle in the southern 
part of the State, he may include Cocoa-nut, Pineapple, Ba- 
nanna, Plantain, Guava, &c, &c. 

Certainly it would be difficult, anywhere within the bounds 
of the United States, or, indeed, anywhere, but in Central 
America, to find a field of agricultural labor, offering so wide 
a scope, and so immense a variety of crops, to which a settler 
may confidently look for successful labor and lucrative returns. 

The climate and duration of the working seasons, too, act as 
powerful inducements to any who have been accustomed to the 
long and severe winters, the short and hurried working season, 
and the immense labor involved in procuring an adequate sup- 
ply of fuel and forage, universally characteristic of the life of 



til 

the former at the North. The so-called winter in Florida, is 
I he precise time selected for the leisurly performance of all ex- 
tra work. There the farmer prepares his land for, and sows 
his crops, while in New England, with frosted fingers the po- 
tato and turnip harvest is being gathered. There he harvests 
his main crops, while the Northern farmer is putting in his 
need; then resting during June, July and August in the shade, 
he has nine months, and in a pinch may have twelve, in which 
fco carry out his plans in a cool and unhurried manner, while 
a few days are sufficient to prepare all the fuel required in a 
climate so mild and serene as almost to have no severity. Suc- 
cessful farming North must he a continual fretting hurry ; in 
Florida the farmer has time enough and to spare. 

Another strong inducement is given in the ease with which 
stock of all kinds, — horses, cattle, swine and poultry — can be 
raised; and the extent to which this business in some parts 
may be carried on by men of small means. With unbounded 
range over the immense tracts of public and private land, scat- 
tered everywhere in the State, there is hardly a necessary limit 
to the amount of cattle horses, and hogs that, in a very short 
space of time, a man who likes bhat business might easily pos- 
sess. Here is probably tin; best cattle and hog country in the 
world, and poultry of all kinds, with little cost or care, may 
contribute to the sustenance and income of every family. 

LIGHT WORK.— To the man who has worn himself out 
in breaking up new land, in building stone wall, in digging 
stumps and putting them into fence, Florida offers an agreeable 
change in the invitation she extends to all to come and engage 
in the light bat lucrative work of raising vegetables and fruit. 
This is probably the least wearying, the most agreeable, and 
the most lucrative kind of agriculture that w r as ever performed. 

Without involving much severe labor, susceptible of infinite 
expansion and improvement, and offering large pecuniary re- 
ward, it constitutes an inducement which, through the leisure 
it offers, and the gains it promises, appeals as weU to the higher 
as the less noble impulses of humanity. 



62 
TKOPICAL FLOKIDA. 

The following letter was written some time ago, by Hon. W 
H. Gleason, Lieutenant Governor elect, and published by order 
of Governor Walker : 

His Excellency D. S. Walker, Governor : 

Sir, — Agreeable to your request, I will undertake to give you a de- 
scription of the southern portion of Florida, through which I have been 
traveling for the past few months : its products, its capabilities, and its 
resources. My examinations have been confined principally to that portion 
of the State south of the Kailroad leading from Jacksonville to Cedar Keys, 
and more particularly south of the 28 ° of latitude, which I shall denom- 
inate as Tropical Florida. 

This portion of the State comprises an area of 20,000 square miles, and 
a population previous to the war, of about 6,000 inhabitants. The popu- 
lation has not materially diminished, as there is quite an emigration tend- 
ing in that direction, and is sufficient already to compensate for its losses 
occasioned by the war. About one-half of this population reside upon the 
Island of Key West and the neighboring keys and islands, and are engaged 
in the business of wrecking and fishing, while a large proportion of the re- 
maining one-half are engaged in the raising of cattle ; farming and the 
growing of crops has hitherto been neglected, and has been confined prin- 
cipally to small patches or gardens around the houses of the woodsmen. 

The raising of cattle upon the main land is the all-absorbing business of 
the inhabitants, who reside from 30 to 40 miles apart and allow the cattle 
to graze upon the public domain. As the food disappears in one place, 
they change to another, so that the people have become migratory in 
their habits. 

The raising of cattle upon the plains and prairies of this portion of the 
State is a profitable business. It is not uncommon to find men, who a 
few years ago had no means, that are now the owners of from two to ten 
thousand head of cattle, and this, after furnishing large numbers to the 
armies of Lee and Johnston. The country is divided into hummocks, 
pine openings and prairies ; the hummocks are very rich and are covered 
over with a dense growth of timber consisting of live and water oaks, 
magnolia, bay and a variety of other hard-wood timber. The soil is sandy 
and mixed with marl and limestone. The pine openings are covered 
with scattering pines, and a grass which affords fine pasturage. The soil 
is sandy and not as desirable as the hummock lands or prairies. The 
prairie lands occupy the interior portion of the State, bordering upon 
the Kissimee river, the head waters of the St. Johns, and the upper Coloo- 
sahatchee The soil is a rich sandy alluvium, and they are covered over 
with a heavy growth of grass, and from their appearance must be very 
productive ; they are dotted over with small clumps of hummocks, con- 
taining from one to five acres each, which give beauty and variety to the 
scenery, and afford shelter, during the heat of the day, to innumerable 
herds of deer and cattle. There also numerous small lakes, of pure water 
filled with fish, some of which are only a few rods in extent, while others 
are from two to ten miles in length. These prairies are the paradise of 
the herdsmen and the hunters. 

The cattle require no feeding during the winter, and one can hardly 
travel over the prairies a whole day without seeing from 50 to 100 deer. 
The Savannas which border upon the Everglades and Biscayene Bay are in- 
undated during the rainy season, from an overflow from the Everglades, 
and as the water subsides, there is left a debris from one-fourth to one- 



63 

half inch in depth ; this process has been going on for centuries, and has 
provided one of the richest soils in the world. The rich lands which skirt 
the Savannas upon the coast side are covered with rotten limestone, and 
have mixed with the vegetable matter to that extent, that the soil will 
effervecse as soon as it comes in contact with acids. These Savannas are 
valuable for sugar plantations, as the sugar cane requires a large per 
centage of lime, and the climate is so mild that the cane will not require 
planting oftener than once in ten or twelve years. The Palma Cbristi, 
or Castor Bean, is here perennial, and grows to be quite a tree. I 6aw 
quite a number as large as peach trees, twenty feet high. Sea-Island 
cotton seems to be a perennial in this section of the State, and is of a fine 
quality. The pure water, the chalybeate and other mineral springs, the 
magnificent beauty of its scenery, the salubrity and equability of its cli- 
mate, must make Biscayene Bay, at no distant day, the resort of the in- 
valid, the tourist and the lover of adventure. The Bay is filled with 
Green Turtle and a variety of fish, and indeed the entire coast of Tropical 
Florida is one immense fishery. At Charlotte Harbor we found quite a 
number engaged in fishing with seines ; the value of the fish caught 
averages, per hand, for the season (three months) $600. I doubt if any 
fishery pays better. The fisheries of Charlotte Harbor could profitably 
give employment to 1,000 persons; and the fisheries at Sarasota and 
Indian River, are equally as good. Every river, creek and lake seems 
to be alive with fish, and oysters are found in great abundance at differ- 
ent places, all aloDg the coast. 

All tbat portion of the State which I have denominated tropical Flor- 
ida, is capable of producing oranges, lemons, limes, arrow-root, cassava, 
indigo, sisal hemp, sugar cane, sea-island cotton, rice, figs, melons of all 
kinds, as well as the vegetables grown in the more Northern States. 
The country around Charlotte Harbor, and Biscayeno Bay, is susceptible 
also of producing cocoanuts, cocoa, pine-apples, guavas, coffee, bananas, 
plantains, alligator pears, and all the fruits and plants of the West 
Indies. 

Like all other tropical countries, tropical Florida has its wet and dry- 
season . The wet or rainy season, is during midsummer, which has a 
tendency to cool the atmosphere, and render the summer months cooler 
than it is in the more Northern portions of ih3 State, or in other por- 
tions of the South ; during the rainy season nearly the whole country is 
flooded, the country being so flat and level that the water does not flow 
off readily. A great portion of the country requires ditching and drain- 
ing, and when some systematic method shall be adopted to let off the 
surplus water during the rainy season, this portion of the State will prove 
the most productive pari of the South. It has but few swamps or marshes, 
unless you consider the Everglades a marsh. They can hardly be con- 
sidered as such, but more properly a lake. The water is from six inches 
to six feet in depth, is perfectly clear, and is grown up with grass, pond 
lilies, and other aqueous plants. The Alpativkee swamp, upon the head 
waters of the St. Lucie river, is the only swamp of any magnitude in trop- 
ical Florida ; and this part of the State has less swamps than Northern 
Wisconsin or Michigan. The country north of the 28 ° East of the Saint 
Johns river, and south of the Rail Road, is more thickly settled than the 
part just described. There are quite a number of plantations under cul- 
tivation, and more attention is paid to agriculture. The lands are more 
rolling than the countjy farther South, and produces a fine quality of sea 
island cotton, which is the principal crop raised. It produces good sugar, 
and an excellent quality of tobacco. Alchua, Marion, and Hernando are 
all fine countries of land for farming purposes, and have many beautiful 
lakes. The country east and south of the St. Johns river, has more 



64 

swamps than any other imrt of the State through which we have travel- 
ed. They are principally covered with cypress timber, and being easy 
of access from the St. Johns and Indian rivers, are valuable. There are 
fine lands upon Halifax river Musquito Lagoon, which, at a former pe- 
riod, were under cultivation, but were abandoned, during the Ihdian war, 
by their owners. I think that there is no part of the South that offers as 
great inducements to the emigrant as Florida. The salubrity and health- 
fulness of its climate, the equability of its temperature, its accessibility, 
the cheapness of its lands, the ease with which its products can be mar- 
keted, are inducements which are not to be overlooked by the emigrant ; 
and the fact that Tropical Florida is the only- portion of the United States 
susceptible, and capable of producing the fruits and plants of the West 
Indies, needs only to be made known, for an emigration to settle in that 
direction, to a sufficient extent to supply the Northern cities, and the en- 
tire North, with oranges, lemons, and all other tropical fruits. 

We have traveled upwards of fifteen hundred miles in the newest and 
most unsettled portion of the State ; we have mixed freely with the peo- 
ple of all classes, and being Northern men, and wishing to learn the sen- 
timents of the people, as well as to examine the country, discussed the 
leading questions of the day, the war and its results, negro suffrage, and, 
in fact, everything connected with the war and secession. We were 
everywhere hospitably received, and although many did not agree with 
us in all our views, all agreed that hereafter the grievances of tne South 
or of any portion of the country, must be settled in accordar,ce with law 
and the Constitution, upon the floor of Congress, and not by a resort to 
arms. An emigration from the North will be welcomed by a large ma- 
jority of the people, and almost every one is anxious to see the State set- 
tled up and fully developed. A Northern man of the most radical views 
is perfectly safe in traveling through any portion of Southern Florida, 
and to give full vent to his ideas and sentiments. The people have no 
real love for the North, as a section ; but they will treat Northern men 
with respect and courtesy, and will encourage them to settle. 

All seem to be heartily sick of the war, and we heard no expression of 
hostility to the general government. On tha contrary, the feeling seems 
to be, upon the part of many who were formerly secessionists, to carry 
out and enforce the laws, and will give their aid and sanction in so doing. 
Like all new countries in the South and West, the lows have been loosely 
carried into effect, and the people have heretofore been in the habit of 
settling their grievances without an appeal to the law, but things as near 
as we could learn, have changed for the better in that respect since the 
war. 

Kespectfully yours, 

WM. H. GLEASON. 



